


The Most Cliche Story Of Love

by Sure_1



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Awkward Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Bottom Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Clothed Sex, Cute Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Dominant Eren Yeager, Dry Humping, Eren's a sweetheart, Fluff, Grinding, I spell it Hanji even though the tags say Hange, I spell it Jaeger even though the tags say Yeager, Levi Snorts When He Laughs, M/M, Mikasa Ackerman & Levi Are Related, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shy Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Smut, Submissive Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Top Eren Yeager, like super awkward
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 07:49:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12104088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sure_1/pseuds/Sure_1
Summary: New neighbors make great lovers.





	1. The Move In

**Author's Note:**

> I've been thinking about writing a story for a while. A little anxiety-ridden... but here goes nothing. Enjoy

* * *

Seventeen years of living in the slum parts of society led Levi here; living the suburban dream of each and every teen in each and every 90's drama film. And while most people would look at his new home and think 'what a wonderful change,' Levi couldn't help but mourn the loss of his well collected life back when his garage door would only open halfway. Or when every time someone closed the fridge door the freezer would open, and they had to lock them both down with a piece of duck tape so the icecream wouldn't melt. And when the landlord refused to add in a doggy-door for Levi's young rotwieler, so he had to steal one of his uncles hand-held saws and cut it himself. 

It wasn't luxury. 

But it was their home. 

And they abandoned it. 

Which made Levi feel like a monster. And to some levels, like his father. Because he wasn't one to up and leave behind such a past. Levi was loyal, to both people and things that hold sentiment, and he'll be damned if he was going to leave such a huge part of him in the rut. 

Which was why he sawed off a piece of pipe that stuck through a hole in the wall and connected what he assumed was the pressure to the air heater. His mom disapproved, and when she found out almost halfway to their new home, made Levi chuck it into the gas station trash bin. He didn't mind that much, seeing as he also unscrewed his doorknob and hid it within the secret confines of his backpack. 

It wasn't until he was standing in the middle of his front walkway, staring at his new home, that Levi noticed how poor his family has lived for, well, his whole life. 

For one, there was no screen door. Which meant there was no way for his uncle to bang for entrance until his fist broke through the screen. Second, there were no paint spills on the side of the house that when people saw and mistook for blood, would grab hold of their child's hand and book it down the street. And lastly, there was not one visible cracked window that either met its demise through a baseball or the bat that slipped from Levi's hands when he was nearly eight. From what he could tell, it was a middle class house built for conventional families and single soccer moms.

It in no way looked to Levi like a home.

* * *

 Dinner was Chinese take out eaten on the floor of their bare living room, and since all their furniture wouldn't be arriving until the following day, Levi decided after eating that he'd be sleeping on a make-shift bed consisiting of two blankets and a pair of clothes he laid out for himself earlier that morning.

And when he couldn't fall asleep, he just lied there, staring at his newly painted ceiling that, back in his old house, would usually be decorated with dark stains that made Levi wonder how they were formed. He knew he should be happy. Knew he should be more appreciative for an opportunity to get away from the sound of gun shots at night, or the screaming from drunk couples accusing the other of cheating. But he wasn't. 

He missed his old life. Missed the wall next to the bathroom that marked the families growth spurts and ages. Missed the lock he had on his bedroom door that prevented people from bothering him when he wanted to be alone. But most of all, he missed his friends. The only people that always understood what he really meant by "fuck off," or who never left when he told them to "go away" because they really knew he meant "stay." They were his only solace. And now they were an hour away, in a different town, a different city, and a different state.

He missed them. 

A lot.

But there wasn't anything he could do about that now.

When he heard a light tapping at his door, Levi already suspected it was Mikasa, so he let out some kind of mumbled confirmation that was good enough for her, because a second later she was entering his room. Levi couldn't see her that well, the only light illuminating her figure being the shine of the moon through his window, which only helped him see that she was wearing her Christmas onsie with the sleeves rolled up. He took a minute to sit up against the wall, followed by Mikasa who sat down next to him. It was silent. 

"I miss our old home." It was softly spoken, much like most of what Mikasa said. "And my room smells like fumes." Her only response was a soft hum, and they sat in the dark for a while longer, just staring at the opposite wall in silence. And oddly enough, Levi was comforted by the still atmosphere surrounding the two.

It was peaceful, calming, and Levi only realized how late it was when Mikasa rested her head on his shoulder and he felt a yawn threaten to escape. They hadn't done much today except for a little bit of packing and a lot of driving, yet they still felt so drained. They didn't know if it was the new home or the Chinese food, but either way, exhaustion fell heavy, and it was obvious that Mikasa's real motive for coming wasn't to talk, but to sleep in Levi's room. But he didn't mind. He just grabbed the blanket from his 'bed' and pulled it onto the two of them huddled in their sitting position. It wasn't the most comfortable way to sleep, but Mikasa showed no sign of moving, so Levi wouldn't either. 

The silence provoked sad memories, none that Levi ever held against himself or thought of much, but traumatic none the less. Recalls of poor birthdays and Thanksgiving dinners being nothing more than a turkey and cheese sandwich their mother made for lack of a better feast seemed tragic, but was never something Mikasa or Levi brought up much less mourned over. And now, four jobs and a criminal record later, they were here; living in the houses Levi used to scowl at because he believed they were where privileged rich kids settled. But he couldn't say much about that now, seeing as he was one of those privileged rich kids he always sneered against. It was funny, in a sense, how far they've come from living in affordable government housing to not having to worry whether or not they'd have enough for groceries that month. A depressing sort of funny, but humorous none the less. 

Levi put an arm around Mikasa's shoulders and rested his own head against her, feeling the lack of rest beginning to creep in on him. 

* * *

 It was when the light was cut off through Levi's shades that he opened his eyes. Above him, hair tied back in a ponytail and cheeks red with heat, stood Mikasa, hands on her thighs as she towered over him. 

"Why don't you get off your ass and help us with this furniture?" It was an easy question, so Levi just replied with an easy flick of his middle finger. It wasn't until Mikasa grabbed at the offending gesture and bent it back at an unnatural angle that Levi agreed to help. So, begrudgingly, he stood from his position on the lawn and walked over to his mom struggling to pull down a chair from the moving truck. Every piece of furniture was heavier than the last, which resulted in five minute intervals in between lifting that usually earned both Mikasa and Levi and disapproving glare from their mother and a pinch on their ears. 

 It took them a little over two hours to unload everything, and once everything was inside the house, Kutchel looked over the furniture with a look Levi couldn't really figure out.

"The living room's a little small for the couch, huh?" Which it was. It was a living room connected to the kitchen, and when they were being pitched the house was called a "serving hatch" by the real estate agent, which made Levi cringe. About 23 minutes later the couch had found its home in the middle of the room and acted like a wall against the hallway, and when Mikasa pointed out how ugly the back of the couch was, suggested that they place a table behind it for decoration and keepsakes. It didn't look half bad. 

Levi was ready to retire back to his room, now equipped with a new bed his mom bought as an accessory to the new house, and a bean bag chair that he swore he didn't want, but couldn't necessarily stop sitting in. But when he was halfway up the stairs and about five feet from their front door, the bell rang, and by the natural laws of their family, the closest to the door answers it. Levi hated that rule... but only when he was the victim. He played it off as being a lazy teen who rebeled against every little action, but the fact of the matter was, he simply lacked the natural instinct of socializing in general. Besides his family and friends, the raven never truly spoke to a lot of people. He’d answer questions when he was involuntarily called on in school, and give a wave or two when greeted by someone in a store or on the street. It was common courtesy. But besides little tidbits here and there, Levi was silent. That’s why he paused on the step he was on and waited for someone else to jump in, wishing his sister would come bouncing into the room and answer the door like it was the easiest thing in the world. Hoping; praying.

“Levi! The door!” Well. Fuck him.

 In three seconds Levi was on the door, staring into a clothed chest before slowly dragging his eyes up to be met with a man nearly a foot taller than he was. This man looked as though he could either sell drugs or be a priest, Levi concluded, and instead of a greeting, leaned against the doorframe and waited for an introduction.

"Good evening, my name’s Grisha. How are you?" It took a minute for Levi to regeister the hand in front of him, and, after a moment, reluctantly shook it.

"Im fine-"

"Levi! Who's at the door?" He looked back at his nosy sister carrying her lava lamp and pillow covers, and vaguely motioned towards their mother. 

"Are you the head of the household?" Levi turned back to the man on his porch.

"Ah, no." He rubbed at his neck and looked to see if Kutchel was coming. “No. My mom she’s... she is.” The awkward tension between the two never seemed to lift, and Levi was stuck between avoiding glances and turning back to look for any signs of his mom. He had very little social skills. It was a gift, really.

”Is she home?” ‘Yea! We were just unpacking. I’ll go get her.’ It seemed so easy. Like he could just widen his jaw and the words would come rushing out. And while he could think of a million great replies, the one that made it over, was... short changed.

”Yea, I mean, she’s here. In like, the house. Not... not here.” It hurt. It physically pained Levi to be this way. Fortunately, the torture only lasted a few seconds more before he heard the tapping of black flats rushing to the door.

”Hi there,” Kutchel’s voice was like the choir of a thousand angels, laying her hands on her sons shoulders as she stepped into the doorframe, “can I help you?”

”Hi. My name’s Grisha...” And the introduction was replayed, Levi luckily slipping out from her hold and rushing up the stairs into his safe haven; his room.

It was maybe ten minutes later, Levi with his eyes shut and headphones blasting, that his mother came into his room with a charming smile.

”We’re having dinner at the Jaegers.” He took the buds from his ears and sat up.

”The who’s?”

”That man that came by invited us over for dinner as a way to welcome us to town. Plus our fridge is empty and I’m sick of delivery. Wear something nice.” And then she was gone, effectively crushing Levi’s plan of staying in bed the rest of the day like that. Second day in a new house and the neighbors were already bombarding their door with invitations and greetings. Granted, It was only one guy, but that was still too many people. 

* * *

 When Kutchel and Mikasa were taking up both bathrooms getting ready, Levi was already dressed in a pair of black jeans and a navy blue sweater, because he truly didn’t care for an old man and his old wife or their opinions on him. What Mikasa and his mother were doing was a waste of time. They’d probably have this one dinner together, see eachother every now and then when they were mowing their lawn, give a quick wave, and that’d be it. Anything else was a fruitless attempt at gaining the friendship of two neighbors that hold no value to them what so ever. So, instead of the vest his mother said made him look like such a handsome young man, the smooth material of his worn down sweater he’s had since freshman year would suffice. 

Hearing heels tap against the wooden flooring made Levi stand up and walk to the door, making sure his phone and headphones were secure in his pocket.

”Alright Mikasa, let’s go! We’re six minutes late. Two days in and we’re already the shitty neighbors who can’t make it to dinner on time.” The end of her rant was more of her talking to herself, and when his mother emerged from the living room wearing her favorite red dress and heels, he commented on how pretty she looked, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Mikasa rushed down the stairs in a shoulderless black shirt and shorts, hair done up in a braid wrapping around the back of her head accompanied with bobby pins stuck all over. Levi would have complimented her as well, but he didn’t find the motivation to do so, not to mention she was wearing his black converse shoes without his permission, so she could go fuck herself. 

They scurried across their yard and knocked on the door, which was almost immediately opened by a middle aged-looking woman with a pony tail wrapped around her shoulders. The wife. She had a pleasant smile and soft eyes, welcoming the family in from the outside with greetings and welcoming hugs. 

Levi followed his family into the dining area, where plates were already set and cups already filled. The lady introduced herself as Carla, her husband entering from what Levi supposed was the living room and beginning to shake hands all over again. What Levi lacked in conversation Mikasa made up for in charm. She took to first impressions like a duck to water, and by the end of every meeting was the favorite by a long shot. Levi was always the sibling that stayed quiet and polite, only speaking when he was asking his mother when they were leaving. A part of him hated Mikasa for having the upper hand at social activities, another part didn’t really care as long as he was home by 9:00. He felt the latter more than anything. 

Everyone got seated and began to chat while dinner finished in the oven. Carla swore her chicken would be done in no less than seven minutes, so Levi was stuck with buttered bread until that moment. He sat through his mother talking to Grisha about occupations, and Carla swooning over how cute Mikasa’s shirt looked when it slipped off the shoulder so sweetly, and when Levi realized that the odd number of people cancelled his chances at having a conversation, he nearly cried in joy.

Since Levi didn’t have to worry about being caught up in awkward two on two vocalization, he entertained himself by studying the pictures hung on the wall next to the table. He had noticed them when he walked in as well, leading up the stairs and down the hallway. He spotted, of course, Grisha and Carla, but also a small boy, who looked to be maybe ten or eleven.  He took note of the kids hair and gapped teeth, which were what really stood out the most. Brunette hair and a tooth crevice that would fit a whole pinky finger. He almost smiled at the child’s appearance. Something about the way the kid glowered in most pictures, but gleamed in others intrigued him, and while scanning over the wall for others, he could see other photos where the child was a bit older, his height reaching up to Carla’s shoulders and Grisha’s upper chest. It would make sense that the small kid would be Carla and Grisha’a son, but when he looked around the house, he was aware of a very pungent lacking son. Levi could talk to children, they were easily impressed and always got struck by his ‘making-a-napkin-disapear’ act, which always made him feel a little better. But instead of dwelling, he dismissed it as a friends sleepover or already asleep in his room.

As discretely as he could, Levi tapped on his mothers shoulders to be excused from the table, and he mentally thanked her for asking where the bathroom was in his place. 

He made his way out of the room and, following Carla’s orders, down the hall next to the stairs. He really just needed an excuse to text his friends back home, who had been blowing up his phone since he arrived the day before. He took a right at the end of the corridor, and when he rammed into something hard, Levi had no problem falling to the floor, back first, phone flying from his hand and onto the floor behind him. He felt dizzy, momentarily disoriented as the ache in his head and spine caught up to him quickly. 

“Oh shit, are you ok?” When Levi finally opened his eyes, his gaze wandered up the cause of his dramatic mishap, to be caught off guard by wild brunette hair and thick eyebrows burrowed together in what looked like concerned confusion. Then it clicked.

This was the toddler from the photos. 

Well, maybe not toddler, more like adult. College student at the most. And though it was against every morale he stood by, to make the situation even better than it already was, Levi just had the strongest urge to speak up.

"Your tooth gap's gone."


	2. Could’ve Gone Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little FYI, the ~ indicates a memory, so something that’s already happened or that they’re looking back on, and the __ is obviously a time skip. Hope it doesn’t get confusing.  
> And the whole situation from the previous chapter may not seem as embarrassing, but Levi has a lot of anxiety(as you can probably tell) and small events that wouldn’t matter to someone else has a huge effect on him, so he tends to overthink everything, and I’m trying to interpret that into the story. That’s why it might seem a little weird.

Levi sat, sullen, in the corner of his bed where the mattress met the walls. His hands dragged down his face with a long groan, taking a moment to rub at his eyes till his vision became blurred with red dots and fuzzy purple.

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Isabelle comforted, leaning against Farlan in attempt to stay in the cameras frame. “It could’ve been a lot worse.”

“I don’t see how.” Isabelle froze for a second, brow’s pinching together in concentration.

“He could’ve laughed.”

“He did.”

“You said he smiled at you.”

“Well you could tell he was uncomfortable.”

“Levi,” Farlan began, “we could go back and forth all night. That guy’s already forgotten by now.” Isabelle nodded along, and from the blurry screen on his computer, Levi guessed she was smiling.

“It’s not that big a deal.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Your tooth gap’s gone.” The man above him gave a questioning glance, before tilting his head to the side.

”What?” He didn’t know what in God’s name possessed him to speak. He was always so good at not saying a word. Levi once went a whole week without talking to Mikasa after she had stolen twenty bucks out of his wallet. He’s probably choked on milk more times then he’s spoken, so why he decided to voice himself at such an awkward time, he didn’t know. But it was done now, and his face was by far was the darkest shade of red it’s ever been.

Levi didn’t know what to say. What _could_ he say? Nothing that didn’t make him sound like a total freak. He was caught at a standstill, debating between the idea of trying to correct himself, and digging a hole to crawl into and die. Whatever he decided to do needed to be done quick, because a lot of time has passed without so much as a blink, and the guy hovering over him was obviously expecting an answer. Levi’s pulse was rapid, his mind racking for ideas of anything he could say or do that wasn’t going to make the situation worse.

“What?” It was stupid; ignorant; childish? Yes, but honestly the best thing Levi could come up with. And it seemed, for a moment, that the man wasn’t having it. He looked as though he was going to say something, then quickly changed his mind. He offered a pitied smile, ran a hand through his hair, and stuck out the other for Levi grab; which he did. He helped him back out to the dining area with an arm around his shoulder and his hand resting on Levi’s waist. The raven was completely flushed at this point. Usually, he would’ve protested any help, claiming he could make it on his own, and thank them anyway, but he found it better to keep his mouth shut for the sake of both his pride and well being.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” He seemed sincere. Levi appreciated that. What he didn’t appreciate was the question that expected an answer. He was beginning to get a headache, his elbow had rug burn, and his throat felt tight.

“No.” There was a nod, and a few moments later, he was sitting back at the table with all eyes on him. He was bombarded with the usual; “are you ok,” “what happened,” “does it hurt,” and almost immediately after sitting down, was rushed by Mikasa whose eyes were widened with worry. It didn’t faze him all that much to be fussed over by his sister, she did it all the time, but he swatted at her hands none the less.

“I’m fine,” he whispered, finding her fixing his hair completely unnecessary. His mother did the same; wiping her thumb under his eyes and across his cheek. Levi could tell Carla would’ve joined in to, her mothering instincts over-powering all else, but instead limited herself to touching his hand from across the table and asking him if needed anything. He shook his head no, but was ignored as Carla rushed into the kitchen to grab him an ice pack.

* * *

“It was embarrassing-“

“You’re embarrassed by everything.” Levi gave Isabelle a harsh glare.

“That’s not helping.” Levi’s computer was was old and outdated, which made face-timing Isabelle and Farlan so difficult. Their picture was constantly blury and lagging, with the exception of the black screen that when appeared read ‘Poor Connection.’ That was as clear as daylight.

“You know it’s true. Remember when you said bitch in class, and you thought that a teacher had heard you, and you stayed up for nearly three days thinking that your mom was going to get a call saying that you’d been expelled?” Of course he remembers. It wasn’t only sleep he went without, because he also missed out on meals and nearly lost two pounds. “You hate school, and you still worried about something so small. There weren’t even any teachers in the room! You’re just a nut case.” It was hard to counterpoint that. It was all true, unfortunately so, and he knew that he tended to get a bit overwhelmed by little problems that shouldn’t concern him in the slightest. And sometimes he’s able to let things go. He’s able to erase it from his mind and move on, and other times, he dwells and sulks until it’s the only thing surrounding him. This was other times.

“You guys weren’t there, you wouldn’t know.” He pauses for a second, hugging his knees to his chest to rest his chin. “I wish you guys were there, though.” Farlan and Isabelle let out a simultaneous string of ‘Aw’s’ that made Levi blush. This was the only time he was thankful for having such a crappy computer camera.

“We miss you, Levi.” Isabelle nodded. “It’s not the same without you.” The raven grinned, and adjusted himself so he was laying down on his bed back up.

“I miss you guys, too.” The three of them have been best friends since third grade, so missing them wasn’t even the half of it. Levi felt as though he was going through withdrawals after being separated from them for so long. They did everything together, which meant that they were with eachother practically every minute of every hour. If they weren’t at Levi’s house, they were at Isabelle’s, if not her’s, then Farlan’s. The three of them were inseparable... except for right now, when they were. Being an hour away means no hanging out when they had school, and on non-school days, they’d only have a little bit of the day together before they needed to leave to make it back home before night fall.

“What’s his name?” He didn’t understand at first, an urged Isabelle on. “The guy next door. Is he cute?” Levi sighed and rolled into his back, mind beginning to flood yet again with the details of his embarrassing first impression.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn’t until the brunette had re-emerged into the dining room that Levi registered him even being gone, and when his phone was placed on the table cloth in front of him, his eyes widened. He had forgotten about his phone, and was utterly shocked to see that it hadn’t cracked. Levi let his eyes wander up to the man from the photos.

“Thank you-“

“And where the hell have you been?” Watching as the tall brunette looked up, Levi was thankful for his moment of temporary under-shine.

“’S trying to find the AA’s.” Batteries, Levi presumed. “Remote’s broken.”

“I told you we had company coming over.”

“I’m sure they like T.V.”

”Eren-“ and finally a name.

”After dinner, obviously.” Carla raised her brow not in question, but what Levi knew as the look a mother gave their child when silently telling them to knock it the fuck off. Levi remembers all too well the little arguments between him and his sister which resulted in receiving that glare. It was almost as scary as when Kutchel would threaten to count to three, or so help her.

“Ah, how rude. This is our son, Eren. Any time you need help with anything, he’ll be more than happy to assist.” And Carla was back with her signature smile, going on about Eren mowing the lawn and carrying heafty objects before she was looking to Levi. “Back to you, sweetheart.” Please no. “Is the ice helping at all?” Eyes bore back into Levi’s very being, striking him from every angle. He was able to swallow thickly, before shrinking back into his seat.

“Yes.” Luckily, Carla found his answer sufficient enough, so she gave him a smile and left to go get dinner. And every so often his gaze would drift to Eren, sitting now directly across from him, and occupying himself with bread and butter. Now that he wasn’t on the floor and nauseas, Levi had a chance to finally take in the features he wasn’t able to appreciate before. Like his eyes. They were bright and constantly changing. In the light they were green, but when covered by shadow, a soft blue. And by some ungodly force, the color’s complimented his shoulders. They were broad and firm, from what Levi could tell, and could easily hold their weight. His scent of pine and Autumn clung to Levi from when he was assisted to his seat, and gave him a warm feeling.

Eren was attractive, yes. It wasn’t hard to label an obviously handsome man as such. Levi could appreciate a good face every once and a while, and it’s been some time since he’s caught a glimpse of someone as fine as him.

* * *

 “His name’s Eren.” Regarding Isabelle’s second question, he shrugged. “And he’s not ugly.” No, he wasn’t. And he wasn’t average, either. But he wasn’t going to go into depth regarding Eren’s looks. If they really wanted to know, they could drive down and see for themselves.

“I bet he’s fucking ripped.” Farlan elbowed Isabelle in her rib cage and Levi snickered at her pained gasp.

When he first heard his name being called, Levi ignored it. Probably Mikasa wanting him to kill a spider. But when he heard his mother call for his attention, he let out a long groan and combed his fingers through his hair.

“I’ve got to go guys.” The two of them whined in protest, but didn’t say anything else. “See you later.”

“Bye Levi.” It took the seventeen year old 30 seconds to make it to the living room and follow his mothers voice to the front entrance, and when he saw Eren standing in the doorway, he froze.

“Uh-“

”Levi, Eren came over to bring us leftovers. Would you be a doll and go put these in the fridge?” Taking the containers from his mothers hands, Levi looked at Eren once more before retreating to the kitchen. Mikasa was sitting on the counter, eating an apple and listening to her headphones. Levi slipped the food into the fridge and leaned against the door, truly not wanting to face Eren again and even think about last nights events.

“Do you like him?” Levi turned to look at Mikasa, confusion pinching his face together.

“Wha-”

“Eren. Do you like him?” The younger sibling frowned.

“Where would you get that idea from?” Mikasa paused her music and took another bite from her fruit.

“Your face. It’s all red.” Levi pressed a hand to his cheek and, it was hot.

“It’s just humid out.”

“It’s October.” Fair point.

“No. I don’t like him.”

“Then why are you avoiding him?” Levi opened his mouth to say something, but ended up silent. It was because he was embarrassed. That’s why he was avoiding him. Not because he thought Eren was cute, or because the sweat on his temple and neck made it obvious that he had been doing something of physical exertion. No, not at all.

“It’s not what you think.” He settled with, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his attention towards the window. His mother came in only a few moments later, her hair now pinned up and out of her face.

“Eren’s offered to show you two around town.” How great.

“Right now?”

“No, he said his shift starts in an hour,” a working man, “but he can stop by tomorrow afternoon. Doesn’t that sound fun?” Levi chose to ignore Mikasa’s smirk and rolled his eyes, almost immediately regretting it after Kutchel began to pinch his nose. “Be nice. He’s just trying to get to know his new neighbors. Maybe you two will become good friends.”

”Oh, I bet they will.”

“Shove it!”

* * *

Levi and Mikasa both sat on the couch, lazing around like they normally do from Saturday to Sunday. Levi would’ve invited Isabelle and Farlan over so that they could finally reconnect after the grueling four days apart, but was rejected by Kutchel who promised their visitation for the weekend following. Their T.V. had been connected a little before the rest of their furniture had been brought in, and honestly, it was the only thing Levi cared about in this move. As long as he had WiFi, he was able to keep tabs on his friends and life back in his hometown. It depressed him to see Isabelle and Farlan hanging out without him, but he knew that just because he was gone, it didn’t mean their friendship was too.

He’d just have to wait until they could be together again. And if four days felt like an eternity, Levi knew he’d have an even worse time waiting an entire week. Not to mention they started their new school on Tuesday, being lucky enough to have a mom that let them stay home an extra day. The thought of attending a new school gave Levi hypertension, and if his school was anything like the neighborhood they lived in now, he just knew it was going to be swarming with preppy jocks and bitchy cheerleaders. Stereotypical, yes, but the only way he could imagine his new school turning out to be.

It was fifteen to twelve, about a quarter before the time Eren said he was coming to pick both Levi and Mikasa up for their tour. Mikasa looked well in depth into her phone, mind blank and brainwashed with Pinterest posts and Instagram comedians. Absolutely disgusting. 

“Are you guys ready?” Kutchel popped her head into the living room, wearing her favorite blue apron and holding a desert recipe book. “Eren should be here any moment.” No one responded, so she sighed and went back to the kitchen, probably to resume her cooking. Levi took in a big inhale and released it with a groan, to which Mikasa acknowledged with a flick of his nose. 

“Are you going to be alright by yourself?” If he was going to be by himself, he’d say no, since he wasn’t, he passed her an unknowing hum.

“What do you mean?” 

“You and Eren.” Levi sat up.

“Yea, I know who your talking about, shithead. I meant why are you asking? You’re coming with us.” 

“I can’t, I still have to unpack.” 

“You can unpack after.” Mikasa looked up from her phone with a smirk. 

“Why, you don’t wanna be alone with the neighborhood hottie?” Levi grimaced.

”You’re a bitch and I hate you.” He stood up and walked away from the couch immediately after Mikasa had blown him a kiss, and began to head straight for his room. There was no way in hell he was going on this walk alone. It’d be awkward enough with the three of them, he couldn’t even imagine it being just himself and Eren. He’d rather kill himself. And when he heard a knock on the door about halfway up the stairs, his blood went cold. Eren was early.

He turned around to find Kutchel on the door in an instance, opening it wide and inviting Eren into a hug. 

“Hi Eren, how are you?”

“I’m fine, Ms. Ackerman, thank you.” Levi’s mother turned around and smiled.

”Are you two ready?” Mikasa walked past her mother and gave Eren a small wave before she was starting up the stairs.

“Just Levi. I’ve got to get my room ready.” Said sibling gripped onto the stair rail till his knuckles were white, letting Mikasa bump into his shoulder as she passed him. 

“Text me pictures, alright sweetie?” Levi gave a small nod, making his way down the stairs one step at a time. When he reached his mother, she rested her hand on his shoulder. Then she looking back at Eren. “Thanks for doing this. We really appreciate it.” And with a kiss to the top of his head, she was pushing Levi towards the door and to a smiling Eren.

“Ready?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, stupid, and honestly just a filler so I can ease into the actual plot. I hate how I wrote this, but I needed to get something out.  
> And I usually don’t like fic’s that don’t have a consistent update, and I wanted to get this up by Friday or Sunday, and I have no idea when this is going to be posted cause I’m trying my best but it just takes a long time. We’ll see if I can update every week, two weeks at most.


	3. Getting To Know You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that it’s clear: Levi used to live in town Maria and go to Shiganshina High, they moved to Rose and will be going to Trost High. I looked at a map so it’s all good. And you may have noticed that it’s going day by day, which will change probably next chapter, and you might think the plot’s going a little fast, or maybe too slow, idk, but these past chapters have just been character development and easing up into thoughts so... bear with me.

Levi had no idea what to do. He was being forced on a walk with someone he had only met the previous night, with no physical idea of where they were heading to. For all he knew, Eren could’ve been leading him to an abandoned mill just over the horizon where he would be able to torture him in only the worst ways imaginable. If it was far enough from society, then Eren needed not worry about his screams. If not, he guessed the walls were thick.

Levi couldn’t think of one normal person that’d be willing to spend an entire day with a sputtering idiot such as himself, besides his family and friends, who were unfortunate enough to be the ones stuck with his presence. Levi lived with his mother and sister, and Isabelle and Farlan were dumb enough not to notice how much of a total loser he was. For their stupidity, Levi was grateful.

The duration of their walk had been silent, just as Levi expected. He couldn’t think of one thing they had in common, despite being neighbors. Levi didn’t even know what grade Eren was in, or if he was still in highschool. They both looked completely different, height and all, which meant they held no similarities when it came to appearances, either. Levi didn’t know one thing about Eren. Not any of his likes or hobbies, not his favorite color or food, and he’d probably forget his last name if it weren’t for Mikasa who had remembered. He was cute. Levi knew that much, but everything else was a total blank. And there’s no way he was going to engage in conversation to find out, either.

The very first time they met, worst case got the better of Levi and broke through. It now scared him to even think about saying anything else that might turn up the way it did yesterday, so any chance of Levi being the one to start a game of icebreakers was very well gone. If not making a total fool of himself meant dragging along a thick cloud of silence along with them, then so be it.

They had been walking for about two minutes now, reached the end of their street, and taken a left towards downtown. It was a nice day, Levi would admit. It was sunny but not hot, and the breeze didn’t feel like 30 degrees when the news channel said 70. The only noises Levi was able to hear was the rumble of passing cars, the shake of dry leaves waiting to fall from the trees, and their own footsteps. On occasion there’d be a particularly loud radio blaring through a Jeep, but it was gone just as quickly as it had arrived. When Eren cleared his throat, Levi was listening closely.

“So,” He drawled, kicking a stray pebble from the walkway and into the street, “how do you like the move so far?” An easy question. One that required a longer, more in-depth answer, but simple none the less.

Levi tried to think of words to describe one of the most stressful events in his life that didn’t end in a depressing tone. He gripped the bottom hem of his shirt, sniffling once before he was speaking cautiously.

“The move’s fine.” Keep it short yet sufficient. If Eren didn’t think he was just being rude instead of shy, he’d be forever appreciative. He reveled in the soft hum that sounded, and gave himself a mental pat on the back for sounding so collected.

The silence wouldn’t let up, and the minute Levi answered, it was back again. It hung around like a bug you’ve swatted at but just wouldn’t leave. He could tell Eren wasn’t used to being in such positions. He was probably a big talker, always chatting and laughing with his friends who knew so much about him. Unlike Levi. Who didn’t.

He felt a little bad for Eren, really. Levi knew that if Mikasa were here, he’d be the third wheel. She was quite the social butterfly, and though kept to herself, was at least able to say more than three words at a time. Levi didn’t know if Eren was trying to hide how uncomfortable he currently felt, or if he was always this kind and patient.

“How old are you? If you don’t mind me asking.” He let himself look up with a tiny tilt, watching him closely as Eren’s eyes scanned the sky for something Levi couldn’t find. “My mother told me you were my age, but you don’t quite look eighteen.” It slipped out before he was able to catch it.

“Because I’m short?” Eren’s eyes went wide, and for a moment, he looked like a kicked puppy.

“No! No, not at all. Shit, I’m sorry.” He was rubbing at the back of his neck, looking sincere yet nervous. “I didn’t word that quite right. What I meant to say was-“

“It’s fine.” Levi sure wasn’t doing great at keeping quiet. “I’m seventeen. ‘Skipped a grade.” His eyes casted down, suddenly very interested in the dirt smudge on the front of his shoe that hadn’t been there the day before.

“When are you turning eighteen?” Levi thought for a moment, counted the days, and shrugged.

“Two months.” Eren nodded.

“That’s soon.” Levi nodded back.

Eren still hadn’t told Levi where they were going, and was on the look out for any place that looked like a common attraction for tourists or people just passing by. They had finally entered the downtown location, which to Levi’s luck, was packed. There were kids running around their parents and old couples sitting on the provided benches next to the road. The area itself was... dainty, for lack of a better word. There were trimmed bushes guarding either side of every door of every shop, with brick built walk ways that held no visible cracks or dents. The lanes looked freshly painted, as though they had been re-done earlier that morning, along with small flower gardens at the bottom of every window pain; full of roses. 

Back in Maria, scenery as such ceased to exist. It was always full of rundown gas stations on every corner, or crack addicts on the side of the street complaining about how someone had stolen their cat when the tabby was standing right next to their feet. And the school’s were even worse, which was the only thing Levi wouldn’t miss, without a doubt.

Most of the students ditched their classes, and on occasion, so did the teachers. The hallway’s were carpeted, which sounds nice for a poor profited school, but in reality, was stained with puke and piss from previous years. The food was the worst part, and looked as though was scraped from the bottom of someone’s shoe and served out on trays. The milk half the time was expired, though no one could really tell until they tasted it for themselves, since the expiration date was blurry and impossible to make out. Overall, he felt sorry for Isabelle and Farlan who were still stuck with the constant smell of bleached orange and bathrooms with broken locks. Levi still had a two day wait until he was attending his new school, but he knew nothing could top the horrors he endured at Shiganshina.

“This is downtown. It’s small but cozy. It’ll grow on you.” The smaller of the two studied the little shops and convenience stores along the walkway separating the buildings from the streets. Looking a little past ‘The World’s Best Pizza’ parlor, Levi spotted the towns public library. It was dainty, and made of bricks. There were green vines tangling up the side of the wall and passing by an old glass window until it was stopped at the tiled roof. Eren’s use of the word cozy gave this town no justice at all. Levi already loved it. “You can buy them, too.” He gave Eren a confused look. “The books,” he motioned towards the library; he must’ve caught Levi staring, “It’s not just renting. It’s like a Block Buster for paperbacks.”

Their walk continued like this for a while; passing by small antique or thrift stores, Eren pointing them out and telling Levi if they were too expensive for their worth. He would usually hum or nod along, only speaking briefly whenever Eren asked a question about himself or his family. He found himself easing rather nicely into conversation, a lot better than he’d expected. Sometimes he wouldn’t even hesitate when answering, and would just blurt out the first thing that came to mind. One of his most horrible traits.

“What do you like about Rose so far?”

“The comic-book store.”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Green.”

“Favorite movie?” Levi guessed it had turned into a game of 21 questions.

“I Am Legend.”

“First pet?”

“Dog. Rottweiler.”

“Name?”

“Daisy.” Eren looked down with a grin.

“Cute name for a Rottweiler.”

“She _was_ cute.” And Levi suddenly felt shy again, as though he were on the spot. He played with his fingers while keeping mind of where he stepped. The brunette seemed to notice.

“Any questions for me?” They stopped at a cross walk and waited for the light to signal their turn to pass through. Eren smiled down brightly. “It’s only fair.” Levi bit at his lip, mind mulling over anything he’d want to know about his next door neighbor. All the questions he truly wanted to know were either too awkward to ask or too awkward to hear the answer to. When it was time, they made it to the opposite sidewalk and started up a road that seemed to be the end of downtown. Levi made a questioning noise in the back of his throat, trying to quickly come up with something; anything he could ask. He was taking too long.

“Favorite thing about Rose?”

“Cobblestone firehouse.”

“Color?”

“Blue.”

“Movie...”

“Camp Rock.” And then Levi laughed. It was short, but loud, and Eren raised an eyebrow. “You telling me that wasn’t a good movie?” Levi shook his head, biting at his lip to hide his smile.

“It’s a great movie.” He grinned. “One or two?” Eren scoffed.

“Are you kidding me? Obviously the first one.”

“ _Obviously_.”

* * *

A little past 1:30 pm and the two were browsing an ice cream shop on the corner of Elm and Saint Street. Levi had been studying their menu for little over five minutes now, too overwhelmed with the number of options provided. When he thought he wanted cotton candy, then he’d spot coffee cookies and cream, and when he was about to order, his eye caught a sign that offered mango gelato. Eren knew what he was going to order before they even walked through the door. It was his idea after all.

Despite being as indecisive as the sky was blue, Eren just stood by his side and kept quiet, unless he was suggesting a flavor he’d think Levi would like. The thick tension between them had finally disappeared, and Levi was finally beginning to have a good time. The best time he’s had since they’d moved.

“What’re you getting?”

“Cake batter.”

“With chunks inside?”

“Of course.” Levi was too overwhelmed. He didn’t know if he was in the mood for a fruity sherbert or a sweet soft serve. He had to make up his mind soon though, three people had already ordered their ice cream and left since Levi first considered his options. He finally settled on mint, and when Eren had paid for both Levi and himself, he was given a hard stare.

“You didn’t have to do that.” He shrugged.

“My tour, my treat.” Levi wasn’t impressed, but took a bite of his ice cream and kicked his feet.

“Thanks.” They exited the parlor and sat on a bench a little left of the door. It was facing towards the street, so their view was constantly either an empty road or cars flying by at twenty miles per hour. Levi kept his gaze towards the chocolatey mint in his bowl, however, and would only ever raise his head when trying to catch a glimpse up at Eren. From what he could see during the ten seconds he’d look, Eren was staring down at his ice cream, and when he’d catch Levi staring, would give him a warm smile that caused his palms to sweat and face heat up. He’d quickly turn his head back down to his cold but melting treat, and be looking back up about a minute later.

Levi guessed it was three by now, maybe three-thirty, if the position of the sun was anything to go by. He couldn’t think of anything else they’d be able to do between now and the time Kutchel wanted him home for dinner, but didn’t want to suggest they leave either. Levi was enjoying himself too much, and found Eren’s company like standing next to a heater on a snowy day.

A group of teenagers could be heard from across the street, laughing and hollering about God knows what, but still making it everybody else’s business. They looked to be about Levi’s age, maybe a year younger, and didn’t seem anything like the kids from his old school. In fact, far from it. These kids wore costly leather jackets and designer jeans from a store Levi’s most likely never heard of, and probably didn’t pay for any of it. He knew he had moved into a town too expensive for his own good, but truly couldn’t get past just how nicely dressed the group a little ways down the street were.

It was almost intimidating. Because while they accessorized with lace up combat boots and crop tops about the price of a full sized shirt, Levi wore sweaters from Kohl’s and Walmart, with the exception of his black and white adidas he had spent all of his Christmas money on. To live a life rid of money problems and headaches caused from stress was a life Levi’s never known, but knew a lot of people took for granted. And he knew it was wrong to assume their lives back home, because the fact of the matter was, he didn’t know those people at all. But he was quick to judge and read someone’s character just by looking at them. Offensive, maybe, but the way he was taught.

“Normal people ain’t have a nickel to their name,” Kenny would tell him as he held his chin tightly in his hand, “that’s why you can’t trust someone with more ‘an what you got. They ain’t rich. They’re sad with bills to wipe their tears.” At the time, Levi believed him. He thought of everyone living in a nice house and in a nice neighborhood good for nothing loads of tripe. They didn’t do anything but sit on their asses and get paid for jack shit, while Levi and his family used to have to rely on Kenny and his rigged fighting rings as their source of income. He’s learned better, though. He _was_ one of those good for nothing loads of tripe sitting on their asses while living a better life than most have ever known. And they deserved it. His mother more than anyone. If he wouldn’t find good in moving for himself, he’d find the good in moving for his mother. If it made her happy, it made Levi hysteric.

“Anything else I should know about my new favorite neighbor?” New favorite... Levi liked that.

“Not really.” He had finished his ice cream by now, holding the empty cup in his lap as he gazed off at the road ahead of them. “But there’s not really much to know in the first place.”

“That’s not true. Everyone’s had a life up until you’ve met them. Then they become part of yours.” The raven tossed his trash into the bin beside him, and looked back at Eren suspiciously.

“That’s a lot of awfully pretty words.”

“Pretty words are meant for the pretty.” Levi had no idea what he had meant by that, and was about to ask what exactly he had said before Eren was standing up to throw his trash away as well. “Come with me, I wanna show you something.”

* * *

It took them eleven minutes to reach Eren’s surprise destination, yet didn’t look to Levi like much of a surprise at all. They were walking up to the towns Rite Aid, making their way to the side of the building instead of the front.

“What are we-“

“You’ll have to see for yourself.” It was fairly difficult getting to where Eren was so excited to go, and was blocked by a number of obstacles that almost made Levi believe were signs telling them how bad of an idea this was. The first one was a gate, with an obvious intent of keeping teenagers such as Eren and himself from entering. Once they had hopped that, then came the steep slope of loose dirt and pebbles that ended at a large stream that seemed almost too close to the edge. It took some time, but eventually, the two of them had balanced across a path of small boulders that prevented them from falling into the water below, and landed at the beginning of a small grassy opening.

Eren, unaware of his effect of Levi, kept his hand on the smaller males wrist, and practically dragged him through the low hanging trees and scratchy bushes. Pushing aside his fear of ticks and poison ivy, Levi followed Eren willingly, and had to run at times to keep up. The brunette had stopped, and when Levi stepped on the tip of his toes to see where they were, was shocked by the mass beauty.

Before them lie a small pond accompanied by lily pads and moss spread out around the top. The water was fairly green, though could be categorized as a darker turquoise. There was a rather large sewer pipe at the far end of the pond, which was it’s obvious source of fill, but still didn’t make the scenery any less magical. From the parts in the trees that the sun was able to shine in through, to the shadows sweeping over the majority of the land, Levi was unable to find any words to describe just how amazing the scene before him truly was. It was so-

“Beautiful.” Levi stepped from behind the taller male and began towards the pond himself, Eren following in suit. It was a very secluded area, probably unknown tomost of the town. But that only made it so much more special.

“I know,” there was a rustle in the trees as a soft breeze passed, “it’s my favorite place to go to when I wanna be alone. I’ve only shown this to my other friend, Armin, but he doesn’t like the outdoors much, so it’s really just me.” Eren paused, taking a seat on the grass and crossing his legs. “And you, if you wanted.”

Levi looked back at Eren with an unreadable expression. He was confused yet flattered, and didn’t know if he wanted to explore or simply watch, so he sat down next to his neighbor and hugged his knees. Eren shared this experience with Levi. And out of all the people he could’ve told, only two others know about what truly resides behind the Rite Aid on Dairy’s Boulevard, and that includes himself and one of Eren’s, supposedly good friends. He was happy. Happier than he’s been in a long time. Levi didn’t know why, but Eren made his chest swell and stomach churn.

Levi remained silent for a moment, watching the twinkle of light dance over the water and hide behind algae covered rocks and sticks. He moved his toes around within his shoe, and hugged his knees tighter.

“Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brought to you by my not having a life.


	4. First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You will notice through-out the chapters that the story doesn’t revolve around their highschool life, but mainly just them being together. There will obviously be some highschool chapters or tendancies, but I just wanted to make it aware so you won’t be confused as to why there’s so little information about their school world. I also finished this on Sunday but decided to be evil and make you guys wait the week<<3

The Ackerman’s had seen a lot of Eren Jaeger within the past two days.

The day after he showed Levi around, he followed up the next morning with freshly baked banana bread; yet another gift from his mother. After school that same day, he came back to help Kutchel carry the rest of her belongings up the stair case, and in the mean while, slip Levi and Mikasa his phone number. In case of emergencies, of course.

And once Monday had came along, Kutchel had grown anal, constantly making sure her children had all their school supplies in preparation for their first day. She’d ask where their backpacks were, move them in a spot she thought was more easily accessible, and then forgot where she had placed them and begin to panic.

When Eren popped his head through the door around noonish, Kutchel thanked him for coming by, but dismissed him for not having anymore boxes that needed moving. But when Eren instead asked for Levi, Ms. Ackerman stood up straight, raised both her eyebrows, and pointed him in the direction of his room. Levi, at the moment, had been picking through his clothes, some still folded within a box, and others laid out along his bed. The first day of school was always the most nerve-wracking moment in a child’s life, but usually became second nature to others of his age. Levi, however, didn’t take to first days at all.

The night before, he’d always stay awake until he began to watch the sunrise through his closed window blinds, and only when his eyes would start to droop with exhaustion, would his alarm go off. That left him tired, anxious, and considerably grumpy for the remainder of the day. If he was able to get more than at least two hours of sleep, he’d be happy.

Looking over his options of what he had dubbed decent enough for starting a new school, he was stuck with maybe ten choices, five outfits if he were to combine them. It was too hot for a sweatshirt, which was unfortunate, because Levi always looked forward to October’s chilly breezes and warm dusks’. That probably also eliminated any other long sleeved shirts as well, which narrowed him down to four pairs of jeans, two plain t-shirts, and a sleeveless plaid tank top. He’d save the latter for when he wanted to look like a hipster junkie. With that thought in mind, he tossed- more like folded neatly and placed aside the reject, and studied the two remaining options closely. He was left with a plain black shirt, and a collared grey.

“Shit!” Levi was well over startled when Eren’s body poked in through his already open door, followed by a knock, and a shuffle until he was completely inside the room. The raven gave a little jump, dropping the pair of jeans he held in his hand and pressing against the left of his chest. He stared at Eren for a good moment, just taking in his form until he could feel his heart beat beginning to soothe down beneath his fingertips. “Shit...” It was mumbled, and more said to himself than anything. Levi took a few deep breathes, and flushed once he felt the familiar temperature tingle up his spine. Not surprisingly, he felt hot.

“Didn’t mean to scare you,” it was said with a smile, making Levi believe he didn’t mind all that much, “I just wanted to drop in and say hi.” Levi regarded Eren for another moment, before sniffling, and continuing with his mission on choosing which clothes he were to wear.

“Well,” he paused before quickly realizing that his pre-picked underwear was within plain sight on his bed, picked up the pair of jeans from the floor, and threw it over the red briefs, “hey.” Levi’s attempt to look cool consisted of a hand on his waist and a hip pointed out, along with a combing of hair with his fingers. “I’m just, uh, just getting ready for tomorrow.” Eren nodded, the quirk in his lips making Levi feel a little on the spot.

He went back to the shirts in front of him, deciding a mental game of eenie-meenie-minie-moe would do the trick just fine. The collared shirt didn’t make the cut, which meant Levi would be adorning a black shirt and a pair of well fitted dark jeans on his first day. He thinks that it might look a little too ebony for a new school impression, but his closet was fairly limited due to the move. It hadn’t been just the house they left behind, because they also had to replace their furniture and many clothes. Kutchel promised that their next paycheck would be when they went out to expand their wardrobe. Mikasa was over the moon. Levi stayed on Earth.

When he felt yet another shiver rack down his arms, the raven slowly turned his head to the side to catch Eren staring; hard. Levi had suddenly felt insecure, unconsciously crossing his arms and hunching his shoulders.

“What?” He squinted his eyes then, but remained quiet for another second or two.

“You have a little fuzz on your eyelash.” Fingers wiped at his eyelashes carefully, but Eren shook his head. “Other eye.” And when he rubbed at the other, Levi received a disapproving sound. “Here,“ in two long strides, Eren was directly in front the raven, eyebrows furrowed together in concentration as he brought his hand to Levi’s shoulder, “let me.”

It was maybe five seconds until the smaller of the two fully grasped the situation at which he was in. Eren was, in a sense, too close for comfort, and obviously oblivious to the fact that Levi’s breathe had hitched. Well, more like stopped all together, because his throat suddenly felt extremely tight, along with his hands that, clutching to the front of his shirt, were profusely sweating. And with a tiny pinch on the ends of his lashes and a flick of the offending fuzz, it was over.

“Christ, that was driving me crazy.”

“Levi, stay out of my shit-“ Said male looked beyond Eren towards his sister who, standing in the doorway, had her lips sucked in and eyes wide. She was holding a package of freshly opened sharpies, but slowly slipped it behind her back once she noticed their close proximity and clicked her tongue. “Sorry about that...”

“We weren’t-“ Levi’s warning was cut short by her holding up her hand, and a second later, she was gone. Eren seemed confused, which worked in Levi’s favor, and gave him the chance to shake his shoulder free of his arm and take a good few steps back. When he saw that the brunette was about to question her behavior, he beat him to it.

“She’s an idiot. Don’t mind her.” And it seemed to satisfy Eren, for the most part, because soon he was standing next to Levi yet again, scanning the clothes that were laid out and humming at what he thought looked nice.

“Excited for tomorrow?” Over-statement. By a long shot.

“Guess you could say that.” Levi occupied himself by ignoring Eren’s persistent close quarters and putting away the extra clothing. Once his bed was free of fabric and outfit set nicely on his bed side table, he found himself buried under silence and the much unwanted tingle of Eren’s gaze.

“Nervous?” He sat himself in the beanbag chair by the far corner of his room, a very comfortable length away from Levi. “New schools can be scary. Especially when you don’t know anyone.” Levi offered one brow raised and lick of his teeth.

“Are you trying to make me nervous?” That earned him a laugh. A genuine, original, signature laugh that melted his heart and made his knees feel weak.

“You can stick by me, if you’d like. You and your sister. I’m probably the only one you know who’s been at this school for the full experience.” Hands went around to cup behind his head, Eren’s legs coming up to cross over one another by the ankle. “Plus I’ll know where all your classes are. You kinda need me.” That made Levi scoff.

“Need you, huh?”

“Of course. I’m to you as the map is to Dora.”

“Do I look lost to you?”

“Sometimes; when you bite your lip and rub at your arms.” The smile Levi didn’t realize he was wearing quickly faltered, suddenly feeling on the spot. “Or when you do that thing with your mouth, when you puff up your cheeks like a kid when they’re pouting.” It seemed as though all caution was thrown to the wind, along with any regard for ones pride or dignity, because Levi was being subjected to observations he didn’t even know about himself. Things that would require someone to really be paying attention to notice. Something Levi didn’t really think Eren did.

He remained quiet, just watching Eren from where he stood while his mind worked a mile a minute. Levi couldn’t find one suitable response to something like that. Didn’t think anyone could. But Eren spoke again, saving him from having to.

“It’s cute, though.”

* * *

 The clocks ‘tick’ seemed louder than its ‘tock’, but just as equally slow. Four periods have gone by, but to Levi, twelve. He didn’t remember school being this excruciatingly long and painful, not to mention dull and boring. At least at his old school there were no teachers or, better yet, any that cared, which basically gave Levi and his friends six hours to piss around and do nothing together. But here, he had to do nothing with nobody.

Because it was a little ways into the year, projects had already been started, lessons taught, and textbooks highlighted, which left Levi in the middle of still needing his provided supplies and not knowing one thing about where to start. It seemed the teachers didn’t know, either. All telling him that he’d need to go down to guidance for an extra physics book or to take his picture for a student I.D. that’d let him check books out of the library. A library, mind you, with no relevant stories or novels written within the recent era.

The day was already going by so slow, and he still had lunch plus another three periods until the end of the day. Mikasa had promised to meet him outside of every single one of his classes to walk him to the next, which she did, minus the part about knowing where to go; which was where Eren came into play. Walking aimlessly through different hallways, they’d usually spot the brunette by a locker or somebody else’s, and when he’d spot them too, he’d grow a giant smile and start towards them. Levi tried his best not to make much conversation, what with the confusion surrounding what he had said the day prier.

“It’s cute, though.” It ran through his head like a mantra, and wouldn’t stop ringing until he occupied himself with a task. Like doodling on a desk, or actually listening to the teacher. If he had been at a loss of words before, you could imagine his state after hearing something like that. Surprisingly enough, Eren didn’t seem effected by this at all. He just regarded him with his lovely smile, and was as helpful as Levi wasn’t. It made him feel a bit better, though still quizzical.

“Psst.” There was a small noise in Levi’s right ear, maybe just friends talking to each other beside him, but when he heard it again, this time louder and more persistent, he looked over.

Beside him was a girl with the same color hair as Eren, which was unfortunately the first thing Levi noticed. Studying her a little better, he was able to see that she wore giant brown glasses, and a leather jacket covering a white shirt. In her left hand she held a folded piece of paper, in her other, a blue pen. She looked at Levi through the corner of her eye, and once seeing that she had his attention, shook the paper in her hand noticeably.

It took Levi a moment to figure the note was for him, and looking back at the front of the class to see that the teacher was facing the black board, hesitantly leaned over and plucked the paper from her hand. He waited a few minutes to open it, making sure the coast was clear of anyway he could get caught. They were in the way back of the class, in the far corner about ten rows down. The likelihood of them being seen was slim, but still a possibility.

‘My name’s Hanji. What’s yours?’ Levi read the note and looked back at the girl skeptically, who in response, just nodded her head towards the paper.

‘Levi.’ Once It was passed back to its original owner, the raven became rather anxious while waiting for a reply. It reminded him of when Isabell, Farlan, and himself would pass notes back and forth during health class while watching a video on unprotected sex. The note this time was thrown on top of his desk, catching Levi off guard.

‘Transfer student?’ Levi couldn’t think of one thing he accomplished at Shiganshina that would be worth transferring to a school that doesn’t accept recycling as a community service act.

‘No. Just moved here.’ He was quick to hide the lined paper when the teacher turned back towards the class, assigned twenty pages in the workbook, and busied himself within the contents of his laptop. When he passed the note back, he got a reply in less than 30 seconds.

‘Figured. I’ve never seen you around town before. Do you know anybody else attending school here?’

‘Eren Jager.’

‘You mean *Jaeger? School heartthrob?’ Damn right.

‘I guess.’ The girl, Hanji, crumpled up their note and started on a new page in her notebook.

‘Well now you know me. Welcome to Trost, bestie.’

* * *

 Three periods and a lunch later, the day was over. He had successfully made two new acquaintances; Hanji, and her friend Erwin who she had introduced Levi to sixth period, when they all shared English. Lunch was spent with Mikasa and Eren, along with his friends who he couldn’t really remember the names of. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“‘Kasa, Levi, these are my friends. Over there is Christa and Ymir...” Eren pointed to two girls at the end of the long table, both obviously very comfortable with each other, and lost in their own world of conversation. “There’s Sasha and Connie, this here’s Armin,” the vague wave towards who he meant to point out gave Levi some difficulty in deciphering who was who, but eventually figured it out through Armin’s introducing of himself, “and that’s Jean.”

The latter was spoken rather dully, but forgotten once Eren had a hand on Levi’s shoulder. “Everyone, this is Levi, and that’s Mikasa. They just moved here, so be nice.”

* * *

The three of them decided to walk home together, Levi at the far end, Mikasa in the middle, and Eren on the right with one strap of his backpack over his shoulder. His sister and Eren were talking about something Levi didn’t really care about, so decided not to tune in to. Probably about how their day went, or how much they liked attending Trost. It was a conversation filler, which didn’t mind Levi all that much, because he was too busy remembering what Eren had said on Monday and how exactly he had said it.

“...cute-“ Maybe he was joking. Mocking Levi for acting like a child when he isn’t aware. Or maybe it was sarcasm. A cruel joke at Levi’s expense. Or maybe he was being... sincere?

“-huh, Levi?” His name was what brought him back to the present, looking wildly between Eren and Mikasa before speaking up.

“What?” Too caught up in his own mind to be able to pay attention to a conversation happening merely an inch beside him. Eren chuckled, causing Levi to fluster, and Mikasa to smirk.

“A party. At our house.”

“Like a, ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ type thing. But for yourselves.” A party. In their own house. With a bunch of strangers. In their own house. Getting drunk and puking.

In their own house.

“Mom would never agree to that.”

“Well obviously we wouldn’t tell her.”

“You’re just gonna throw a party without Mom knowing? She never leaves the house.” At that, Mikasa surrendered. Eren, however, didn’t seem to let up.

“You’ve just gotta plan it accordingly. Be smart about it.” Being smart about it would be not planning the party in the first place. “But it’s up to you if you guys even want to. The kids at Trost can get pretty fucked.”

“Well Levi can chug a whole Caprisun without break-“ His retort was a sharp elbow jabbed into the side of Mikasa’s rib, but the two of them still found it humerous. And while they laughed, Levi could only turn a light salmon as he mumbled under his breathe; which effectively made his steps go from alert to scraping against the sidewalk and kicking rocks.

When he looked back up at the two, Mikasa was smiling down at her phone, while Eren, was smiling down at him. The worst thing he could’ve done would be to quickly look away and pretend like he hadn’t been staring at all; which was exactly what he did. Levi watched the sidewalk under his feet, biting his lip but then remembering what Eren had pointed out, and settled with twiddling his thumbs instead. 

He didn’t know what Eren did to him, or why. Physical attraction was apparent, but if anything, only one way. His earlier remark may have been true, and if it were, Levi wouldn’t know the first thing to do about it. He didn’t even know if Eren liked guys, let alone anyone else. Hanji refered to him as the ‘heartthrob’ of the school, which could only mean Levi wasn’t the first one to acknowledge Eren’s looks. That didn’t surprise him, though. Hell, it wouldn’t be that shocking if Eren had dated every single person attending Trost High. He certainly was handsome enough for the job, and if you added his sweet smile and kind-hearted spirit, he was everyone’s type; men and women alike. 

Eren Jaeger was a mystery to Levi not only because of his free will, but because of his personality that made it hard for the raven to read and judge on his own. He knew his favorite color, movie, icecream flavor, type of dog; anything of detail Levi probably knew. But those things were materialistic and public, which held no value to Levi what-so-ever. In reality, he didn’t know one thing about Eren... which only added fuel to the fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had no idea how to end this, so there you go. This could be taken as yet another filler, or maybe a cruicial point in the plot that will take me to where I need to go... just know that I have my visions for the future and have already planned out when they will... be together *v*


	5. Planning A Sin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much love <3 thank you. Your comments make me so happy, and I look forward to the minute I post just to hear from you all!

~~~~Dinner was quiet, with the exception of silverware against ceramic plates and the clinking of water glasses being placed onto the counter too fast. Kutchel had set for three, since Eren had to decline their dinner invite due to the celebration of a relatives belated birthday. He promised he’d be there the next time an offer was made.

Kutchel had prepared shredded turkey with mashed potatoes and cauliflower; a personal favorite of Levi’s, and a tolerable meal for Mikasa. They all sat around the island in the kitchen, since there was no physical place they could fit a dining table without the room looking misplaced and cramped. It didn’t bother them as much as it’d bother the next family, because while it would be nice to sit in a chair with back support rather than slouching on a stool, the Ackerman’s were never the kind to whine and complain about what they didn’t have. They appreciated what they did, and were grateful when given something that held value or worth.

Maybe it was from a life of ramen noodles for every meal like an early twenty’s college student, or from shoes with ripped souls and tongues, or perhaps from the things they did have that had gotten taken away from them; like their money. Paychecks were tight as it was, and it truly didn’t help when they’d check the drawer hidden under Kutchel’s nightstand to find that their envelope of cash was short of 200 bucks. They’d find a new hiding place, but a month later, it’d be down again. Which was why Kutchel’s next statement brought such tension to the kitchen.

“Kenny’s back.” Both Levi and Mikasa stared at their mother for a good minute, remaining quiet until their minds caught up with them.

“Kenny?” She nodded.

“Is back?” Another nod.

“He misses you guys.”

“Did he tell you that? Or are you assuming?” Kutchel gave Mikasa a hard stare.

“Mika-“

“You do take his side, Mom.” Levi’s voice seemed small and hushed, but it was heard just as well as everyone else.

Levi, just as well as Mikasa, had a difficult time accepting Kenny and his routine occurrences. They knew just as well as Kutchel what the outcome would turn out to be. That didn’t make their mother in any less denial than she was.

“He’s family.” Kutchel’s tone was stern and left no room for argument. “Your uncle wants to be in our lives again. And I haven’t forgotten what he’s done in the past. I remember.” She had calmed down now, and her palm was pressed flat against her forehead. “But he doesn’t have anyone else. You know that. He’s helpless when it comes to being alone.”

Levi had begun to push his food around his plate, no longer finding himself very hungry. Kenny was always the worst thing to happen to their family, despite the temporary poverty and financial struggle. When putting it into terms, Kenny _was_ their financial struggle, leaving him the main cause for any situations hey had been put into over the years.

Not only was he a thief of money, but he was also a thief of fun and emotion. Uncles are known to act humorous and spoil their nieces and nephews whenever they got together: Kenny was not an ordinary uncle, however. The moments he spent with Levi and Mikasa were either him asking where the beer was, or teaching them to fight. It wasn’t necessarily lessons he taught, more like self defense attacks he’d act out when catching them off guard. Like when Levi would turn a sharp corner and seconds later find himself pinned to the wall with his hands around his back and Kenny whispering, “always be alert” in his ear. Or when Mikasa went to angrily grab her phone from Kenny’s hand to be tripped up and landing on the floor without a second thought. He was a shit uncle, but he shaped Levi and Mikasa into who they are today; which wasn’t done too shabby.

“I’ll be leaving Friday to visit him in his flat.” Levi realized what Kutchel had said a second too late, because Mikasa’s eyes had lit up and her face looking hopeful.

“You’re gonna be gone all weekend?” She nodded, taking her enthusiasm for sadness as her hand sought out to find purchase on Mikasa’s shoulder.

“I’ll be back Sunday night. And I’ll call every chance I get to make sure you guys are doing alright-“ It went on for a good minute; their mother assuring her care through promises they both knew she meant fairly well to keep. And once her spiel had ended, Mikasa played a beautiful role in pretending to be upset by her leave. Levi, unfortunately, couldn’t do anything to stop her. “I’m not expecting a change, you know,” she always did, “but he is my brother. I can’t just drop him from my life.” She mindlessly rubbed a thumb over the top of her other hand. “Our life, yes. But not mine.” 

Levi’s sister was caring and kind, but it wasn’t hard to see that she was using her innocent face to mask the fury she held for the bonding of her mother and Kenny. Mikasa just sighed and blinked down at the table cloth. 

“You _will_ call?”

“Of course.” Mikasa closed her eyes for a second, before nodding and letting her lips curl into a smile.

_What a bitch._

* * *

Mikasa was currently browsing the streamers marked under clearance, as Levi watched, arms crossed, and frustration noticeable. She hadn’t commented yet, which made Levi feel as though he were obligated to make his anger more apparent; so he gave a giant huff and kicked at the bottom of the rack containing party balloons. It wasn’t until he had kicked over a few packets of Whoopi cushions that his sister finally gave him the time of day.

“What is it?” Mikasa kept her eyes to the items in front of her, and for a moment, it seemed as though the raven wasn’t going to say anything. Though, he finally lifted his head with squinted eyes.

“You’re manipulative.” He received no reply. “And you don’t even care, do you?”

“Levi,” she sighed, taking a moment to look at her brother head on. “it’s not like I tricked Mom into leaving this weekend. She _wants_ to go, which means we’ll be by ourselves.” Mikasa added two packages of black streamers into her basket. “And why waste a perfectly good house?”

“Because that house is our house, ‘Kasa. I don’t know if you’ve watched any movies in the past thirty years, but parties always leave the hosts’ houses fucking trashed.”

“In Hollywood, maybe. Don’t believe everything you’ve seen on T.V., Levi.” He decided to pout instead of thinking of a retort, and crossed his arms over his chest with an exhale. Mikasa ignored him for maybe twenty seconds, before she was rubbing at her eyes and turning back to face him. “Small party. Five hours. Clean-up’s on me. Ok?” It was tempting; but Levi always drove a hard bargain.

“Isabelle and Farlan get to come, too.”

“Deal.”

“And no alcohol.” Mikasa hesitated, but agreed none the less.

“Fine.” And with reluctancy, their hands now spat with saliva, they shook; Levi almost immediately wiping the germs across his pants and looking out for an automatic hand sanitizer. No luck surpassed, which didn’t shock Levi all that much, since they were in a party supply store and not a Petco. 

His sister stuck to the cheap price tags and on sale items, which was a luxury they knew well. Neither Mikasa nor Levi had jobs, so the only budget they were working with was the hundred dollars their mother promised she’d leave before she left on Friday. Granted, they didn’t have the money at the moment, but once Mikasa had prematurely blurted to Eren that they were going to have a party, he was too eager to wait, and instead, offered to pay himself. The Ackerman’s, known to be prideful people, neglected his generous idea, only to roughly agree to owe Eren the money come Friday.

It was currently Wednesday, which gave them two days before they needed to pay their dues, and three days to plan and decorate. Levi, still partially unsupported, was put in charge of decorations; mainly because he wouldn’t be able to walk around a house with mis-matched colors and more balloons in the living room than were hung up in the kitchen. Eren was food and drink, while Mikasa was management all around. They had a good system, one where everyone had their own project, and thus, kept out of the way.

Levi was reading the choking cautions on the back of margarita swords when a tap on his shoulder brought him back to the present. A 90 degree turn brought him face to face with a plastic mask of, leaning back to get a closer look, Donald Trump. He’s seen many realistic cardboard cutouts and costumes, but the one Eren was sporting was beyond belief. It being made of rubber gave the owner of the mask a hard time breathing, but true facial features that were hard to beat. From the pursed lips to the pungent white circling his eyes, it was as though Levi was in front of the president himself.

“Is it me or am I totally making this work?” A bite at his lip helped to hide his smile, but it didn’t nothing to conceal his chuckle.

“It’s workin’.” The brunette gave an understanding nod, and ran a hand down his chest to his waist.

“Smash or pass?” It was a playful tease, but that didn’t help Levi’s temperature maintain at its normal level. He played it off as best he could though, smirking as he eyed Eren up and down till he shrugged his shoulders and turned his back.

“Total pass.” The sound of Eren’s resonating laughter filled his heart with a warm affection that was over powering.

”I promise you my hands aren’t that small.” Giddiness soaked through Levi’s skin like water to a sponge, and he couldn’t help but love the way it made him feel. Humor was a characteristic attractive men either lacked or abused, but Eren... he was funny in every sense of the word.

He figured Eren had found something else within the store that caught his eye, because the aisle had grown quiet, and given Levi the time to calculate the total expense three packages of black and grey balloons would cost. A pack was put back, and two placed within Levi’s own basket, moving a fraction to the left to get a look at plastic cups and plates. If one thing was for sure, it was that there was no way in hell he was letting a group of strangers eat off of their own- very expensive, set of plates.

When Levi was tapped on the shoulder yet again, his eyes went directly to the... rather phallic shaped object adorning the top of a head-band. The band itself was a sparkling hot pink, along with the penis; minus the shiny glitter. Eren had too much of a joyful grin, parading around the small row like it were something to be proud of. Levi, however, was too busy laughing to hear Eren ask him again if he’d smash. Levi was too caught up in Eren’s stupidity to notice how his squeamish giggles had turned into loud bursts of laughter; eyes shut from the mere stretch of his smile; hand covering his mouth; an arm wrapped around his stomach. The raven was now hunched over, an outstretched limb being the only thing keeping him upright and safe from crashing into the helium tanks.

When it first began, Levi wasn’t aware. He just continued to laugh, and when he’d calm down and catch his breathe, he’d look right back at Eren and start up again. The second time it happened, Eren was frozen in the middle of the aisle, just staring quietly as the smaller of the two continued until he was at the brink of tears. The third occurrence hurt the base of Levi’s lungs, which only struck him as odd once he had caught sight of Eren’s stone-like structure. He sobered up, and still feeling the giddy aftermath of his outburst, asked the brunette what was wrong with a grin on his lips. It was a good minute before Eren had answered, the only emotion present on his face being his widened eyes.

“Did you just snort?” If the earth stopped rotating on its axis, everything around the globe would break down with a force unseen by human nature. If Levi’s heart stopped pumping blood and oxygen ceased all movements in his veins, he figured the feeling of such demolition would be similar to how he was feeling now. His ears began to ring, all other noises around him becoming a blurry sensation that also made his throat sting.

Levi watched Eren closely; truly unaware of how to go about in such a situation. An aching weight of embarrassment tightened his shoulders and Levi was pretty sure he had a nightmare like this once. Something he’s been so ashamed of for all his life, and it was just revealed to someone with a dick on their head.

He had to think of what he could say that wouldn’t escalate the situation any more because _God_ was he beginning to feel his insecurities rise. Levi didn’t need to feel the numbing heat in his forehead and neck to know that he wasn’t the right skin tone. Granted, whenever he was around Eren, he was always a few shades red.

“No.” His voice cracked, and he knew that it wouldn’t get past even the most oblivious of people. Eren only smiled, gave a small laugh through his nose, and nodded.

“Yes you did.”

“No, I didn’t!” Levi was backing down the aisle now, Eren following in suit while shaking an accusing finger.

“You snort when you laugh.”

“Yea, well...” No retort could possibly be good enough to come back from that, so Levi decided on incoherent mumbles spoken under his breath. And once he looked back at Eren’s shit eating grin and twinkling eyes, one could only wonder why he found Levi’s flaw so amusing. That was, until, Eren had, again, opened his mouth.

“You’re adorable.”

* * *

The hallways were crammed, as per usual of the previous days Levi’s attended Trost. Open lockers took up even more room, along with the group of friends and couples that huddled around a singular space and chatted until the bell sounded.

It wasn’t a peculiar occurrence within the confines of a regular sized high school, but everyone, Levi noted, seemed to be talking about the same thing. And he couldn’t exactly hear them, of course. All conversation in the hallways were private due to the overlapping of noise from a close by classroom or an even louder group. If Levi was absent on a day a fight broke out on school grounds, however, it wasn’t hard to tell that it was the main point of topic in every friend chain.

“Are you going?” It was by chance that two sophomores were having a discussion so close to Levi’s locker.

“Of course I am. Justin’s gonna be there.”

“Does that mean all the jocks were invited, too?”

“Everyone was invited. This _is_ a senior party, you know.” Levi looked out of the corner of his eye to catch sight of a bright green envelope crumpled within acrylic pressed hands. An envelope that looked very much like the ones Mikasa was supposed to hand out.

_Exactly like the ones she was supposed to hand out._

A slam of his locker and a rush down the hall, Levi was stopped short at the sight of his sister handing out envelopes left and right. People came up to her; strangers, holding out their hand like an invitation was their God given right. Mikasa didn’t even hesitate before shoving the paper in the waiting person’s hands and turning back to her locker to retrieve more. Levi was on her in a second, hand on her arm and face twisted with fury.

“‘Small party.’ That is what you said, was it not?” The look of pure exasperation Levi received didn’t phase him in the slightest. “Cause I swear, it feels, to me, like the whole school is going to be coming to our house tomorrow.”

“Levi.”

“I thought you made fifteen copies. A few for Eren’s friends, and a few for ‘adequate acquaintances.’”

“You don’t get it. Everyone wanted to come-“

“I can see that for myself, thanks.”

“Its guilt, Levi. You can’t just invite someone to a party and expect others not to question why they weren’t invited. I don’t know why _I_ did...”

“So you just... made more copies? Enough for the entire population of Trost?” There was a small silence, and Levi didn’t expect and answer.

“In computer tech.” Closed eyes, and a deep breath. The younger sibling combed a hand through his hair and nodded his head softly.

“Ok. Alright. This is fine. This is... this is great. So we have to get more food and plates. And plastic utensils, too. Can’t forget that.” He began to mumble under his breath and count on his fingers the things they needed to expand and get a larger quantity of. When he felt two hands on his shoulders, he swallowed roughly.

“Hey, look at me.” Levi couldn’t, though. He was too busy panting to get a full breath; multiplying twenty-four packs of white forks by an average of at least four whole grades. “Leevee...” He opened his eyes to that.

“You know I hate that.” Mikasa smiled, and patted his hair softly.

“Don’t panic, ok? Everything’s good. It’ll work out. No worries.” A kiss on his cheek brought him back to his rightful mind, and gave him the ability to wipe at his face in disgust.

“Gross.” A panic attack was easing its way back into the controlled corner of Levi’s closely kept self. He wiped at the imaginary dust on his shoulder and cleared his throat in attempt to clear the unwanted feeling of unease and stress to a place that would be hard to reach for further reference. Eren was behind them now. Levi sensed it. He gave a small turn and there was Eren, rubbing at the back of his neck and swinging back and forth on his feet.

Levi wasn’t even as concerned for the party as he was for his own well being. Eren was a book that Levi wanted to read oh so bad. It was the New York Time’s best seller; it was being sold all over Barnes and Nobles’ and was being promoted through magazines and talk shows. Though beautifully worded, Eren was a novel with a plot too complex for Levi to understand, and once he thought that he was finally able to pick up the story’s theme, a twist would develop the novel into a suspenseful wonder that kept the raven on his feet.

And Eren looked on edge for a moment, rubbing at his jaw and chuckling nervously.

“Invited all of Rose, huh?”

Mikasa groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You could say that Kenny is to the Ackerman’s as Frank is to the Gallagher’s. If you don’t get that reference, then don’t sweat it. But we’re getting even closer to the main event people, hang in there.


	6. Just Having Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit longer of a chapter, took me a while, but it’s done. The real juicy crap will be released next chapter, so believe me when I tell you, it’ll be a turning point for the plot. Enjoy!

The sun was set and the sky a black tint lined with navy. Levi was staring at the soon to be starry night as the rustle of panic and anxiety moved about behind him. His mother had her keys, her phone, her wallet, and her card; Levi knew that much. Kutchel patted down her skirt and pressed both hands on her breast, biting her lip and making sure she wasn’t forgetting anything before she left.

A purple suitcase sat by the door and held any other necessity needed for a two-night trip to her brothers flat. And upon further observation, was re-packed a total of two times due to Levi’s disapproval to the way her clothes were folded and how she left no room for an extra pair of boots; in case it began to rain.

Mikasa was on the couch re-watching The Nightmare Before Christmas for the third time that night while also ridding an entire bag of chips Levi had chosen for himself. He’d comment if he didn’t currently have a lot on his mind.

“Ok...” Kutchel straightened the strap of her purse to be aligned in the middle of her shoulder and held her arms out wide. “Give momma hugs and kisses, I’m off.” Levi sluggishly made his way towards his mother, and was pulled into a crushing embrace topped off with kisses to the side of his head and both cheeks.

Mikasa was Kutchel’s next victim, who was attacked from behind while still on the couch. She was given a pinch to her arm and a smooch to her temple. “Be good you two. I trust you’ll be spending my money on pizza instead of hookers, hm?” Levi shrugged. “Envelope’s in the kitchen, bed by eleven, and no food after nine.” Their mother was waved off nonchalantly, and half way out the door, she found it necessary to stop again. “And don’t forget to call if you need anything.” Another acknowledgement, and Kutchel was heading for the car. Before she could come up with another way to stall, Levi was bidding her a second ‘I love you’ and closing the door behind her.

Once joined with his sister on the couch, Levi had begun to feel the guilt weigh his body deep into the cushions and anchor him down. His fingers moved on their own, tapping one another and gripping together tightly. He couldn’t help but think of all the things that could go wrong with the party; one being their mother finding out. It wasn’t likely that she would, unless they didn’t clean up well enough or if she decided to come home early. It didn’t make Levi feel any better, though. Because it wasn’t a matter of if she found, but a matter of why they even needed to hide anything from her in the first place.

A guess would be that the two ravens knew she’d disagree to hosting a party in their freshly furnished home. Or maybe it was because it was an instinctual feeling of fear that played deep in their subconscious. Whatever it was, Levi didn’t like it.

If it were up to him, they wouldn’t be having the party in the first place. They would just lounge around the house, watch movies and order food, maybe take a walk around the neighborhood. But it was because of Levi’s loyal stature and humble qualities that Mikasa knew she could get away with most things that required un-received approval from Kutchel. He wasn’t a nark.

“Don’t you think this is crazy?” Mikasa didn’t bat an eyelash and continued to nibble at her chips.

“I guess it’s a little weird, but it’s Tim Burton-“

“Not the movie. The party. We’ve never hosted before.”

“Everyone needs to start some where, right?” And Levi was back to being quiet, numbly playing with his fingers and biting at the inside of his mouth. It was easy to guess that Mikasa had sensed his troubled state, because she was turning her attention from the tv and nudging him with her foot. “You worry too much. Why don’t you go call Izzy and Farlan and see if they’re still coming?”

Sometimes, she treated Levi like a child. He caught it easily, and was able to tell when she mistook his anxiety ridden habits for those of a child. Levi never really spoke about it, however. Simply nodded his head and grabbed his laptop from the charging port on his way up the stairs.

If there was one thing that was keeping him level-headed through the weekend, it was Eren. He had just seemed so happy when told about their idea for a party. Similar to how a puppy would act if taunted with a treat. It was cute and possibly the only encouragement he needed to make it to Sunday.

Eren gave Levi an eagerness to please. If Eren wanted to show Levi a twenty-minute video on flies; he’d watch it. If Eren wanted Levi to color his hair and wear pink; he’d do it. If Eren wanted Levi to climb to the top of the roof and plummet to the bottom; he’d die. It certainly wasn’t the best effect to have on someone, but there was something so freeing about the way Eren smiled when he got his way that made Levi want to keep him pleased as long as he could. If that meant submitting himself to tortuous deeds he’d hate to act upon, then so be it.

If he could see Eren’s smile while doing it, then it’d be worth it.

* * *

Ten minutes and twenty seven seconds remaining. A clock hanging close to the kitchen hallway was persistent with its ticks, and never skipped a beat unless Levi looked away and back for the second hand to have gone up by half a centimeter. It was a habit of Levi’s to watch seconds fade into minutes fade into hours; usually when he was nervous. At the dentist office before he was to get a cavity filled, he counted with the tooth shaped clock by the door for the entire hour he was stuck in the waiting room. When he was on the bus for his first day of fifth grade, he stared at his watch decorated with Mickey Mouse characters until they arrived at the school. It had given him quite a nauseas headache, but he truly couldn’t help it. And he has been leaning against the kitchen island for twelve minutes now, only interrupted when Mikasa would scurry by and ask for assistance with very last minute preparations.

Eren was supposed to be coming through the front door any moment, probably stuck helping his mother clean up dinner or put away dishes. His parents were also leaving for the night; a reception held for a coworker of Grisha’s who was receiving what he believed was an Excellence in Medicine Award. He knew that others were to be recognized as well, including Grisha himself who was up for a Dedication to the Profession Award. The conversation Levi endured had been quite boring, but was spoken in such a way that left him captivated and hooked. Maybe it was because he was interested in medicine himself. Maybe it was because it was Eren who was telling the story. Who knew.

The whole day was a wave between Levi’s unsureness about the event to be held and his excitement for the gathering of his old friends. He had been on the brink of two panic-induced break throughs, and one anxiety-stricken wheezing fit. Everything had been sorted out, however, and Levi was fairly sure he was able to make it through the night without dropping dead. He knew that a cold sweat was definitely scheduled somewhere along side the party, along with a trip to the bathroom where he’ll most likely sit on the floor and run his hands through his hair until his heart rate returned to normal. If neither of the possibilities turn up to be an outcome, Levi will be quite shocked.

When the first knock arrives to the door, Mikasa and Levi are frozen. They’re torn between the possibility of it being an early guest or Eren, who it most likely, and hopefully was. The second knock leads Levi to believe it _is_ Eren, and is about to open it before Mikasa is on the door with a hand stroking her hair back. She took a deep breathe, smiled, and opened the door.

“Welcome-“

“Levi!” And in seconds, the raven is grasping onto a heavy weight and rearranging his leg position as to have a higher chance of staying up right. He gives a shaky breathe, and hugs the red-head close.

“Hey Izzy,” she’s smelling his shirt, and Levi cant find it in himself to tell her that it was in fact creepy, and that she should stop. Their hug lasted for a minute or two, and Levi knew it could’ve gone on for much longer if he hadn’t set her to the ground. Though she was relentless, and now standing, continued to squeeze his shoulders and sigh dreamily into his neck.

“I missed you.” Farlan, god bless him, had the will power to pull Isabelle away before she began to cry, and instead replaced her body with his own. Of course, their hug was curt and full of pats on the back, and when they pulled away, their dignity remained.

“Nice house, Ackerman.” And the two were scanning the area around them, pointing at expensive vases they claimed they hadn’t seen before, or stretching their lips in the fancy-rimmed mirrors hung up along the hallway leading to the open space. It seemed as though they had momentarily forgotten about Levi, more interested in the house than anything else. They didn’t even reply to Mikasa when she said her hello’s; not that she minded, however, seeing as she was currently crumpling the hem of her shirt as she waited by the door for other knocks.

One could’ve guessed she was more nervous now than she had been all week, which made sense. They didn’t know, pretty much anyone that was going to be attending their party. They barely knew Eren’s friends, and only spoke to them at lunch when they asked questions about their previous home back in Maria or when complimenting them out of polite habit. The thought of them coming by themselves was daunting, but the whole school?

Horrifying.

But when confronted on the matter, she scoffed in the stoic way she does and played it off as some ridiculous excuse Levi couldn’t even remember a second later. So instead of debating whether or not Mikasa was just as nervous as him, Levi decided to return his attention to his friends who he hadn’t seen in nearly a month. He followed their voices to the kitchen, and wasn’t surprised to see they had found comfort in an unopened box of Cheez-It’s buried deep within their pantry.

“Ten bucks says I can fit thirty squares in my mouth.”

“Ten bucks says you choke on fifteen and I get your iPod.”

“Levi...” Whined Izzy who, cheeks now puffed with cheesy baked crackers, was rummaging through the fridge in search for a beverage. Levi assumed it was to wash down thirty Cheez-It’s. “How come we haven’t been over sooner? Three and half weeks is a long time. I almost forgot what you looked like.” She ditched the thought of a drink in favor of whipped cream straight from the can. “Coulda’ sworn you were blonde.” Levi rolled his eyes and made his way over to his friends, snatching the can from Isabelle and the box of crackers from Farlan as he went.

“Don’t be dramatic. I’ve been busy is all.”

“Busy movin’?”

“Busy movin’. Busy with school. Busy planning this party.” He paused to rearrange the plastic utensils to the left of the plates where they were laid out on the marble counter top. “Hasn’t made me miss you guys any less.” Levi was appalled by Isabelle’s teasing ‘aw.’ He was going to come back with something to defend both himself and his pride, but was interrupted by his sister welcoming a new-comer to their house.

He was on alert, whipping his head towards the hallway’s entrance in preparation of meeting the first arrival when Eren’s laughter sounded out through the house and put his mind and heart at ease. His noticeably tense shoulders fell back down, and Levi occupied himself with the pouring of tortilla chips into variously colored bowls. He didn’t miss his friends snickering in the background.

“What?” Isabelle giggled, and he tried his best to glare.

“Lookin a little flushed there, Levi.” He pressed a hand to his cheek, only to find he was proving Farlan’s point even further, and instead sucked in his lips.

“I’m always flushed. It’s twice as hot in this kitchen than it is outside.”

“It’s forty degrees out. You really that hot?” Levi scoffed.

“Yes. I am.” When Eren had entered through the hall, he was stopped short by the sight of, most likely, the two strangers sitting atop Levi’s counter. Yet instead of awkwardly shuffling his feet around and waiting for someone else to introduce him like Levi usually would do, Eren just smiled like he had known them for ages and set three store bought containers of brownies down onto the island.

“Hi, my name’s Eren. It’s nice to meet you.” He shook hands with Isabelle, and then Farlan, and after they were all introduced and accustomed with one another, Eren was stepping to the raven and leaning against his shoulder like it was second nature. “You guys have known Levi for a while, right?”

“Since birth.” And when Eren was looking impressed and raising his eyebrows down at Levi, the smaller of the two shook his head. “Say,” Levi didn’t like the conversation already, “you’re a lot prettier in person.” Isabelle’s head was tilted to the side; like a dog after being asked a question. “Levi always talks about your looks, but he’s vague and boring when it comes to detail.” Levi didn’t want the feeling of Eren’s attention burning into his mind and body, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped: not after that kind of exposure.

“You talk about my looks?” And when Levi was a mere second away from denying the accusation, Eren turned to Izzy instead. “He talks about my looks?”

“Mmhm!” Isabelle had no clue what kind of situation she was putting Levi in and dear lord pray for her common sense.

“What does he talk about?”

“Your hair and eyes; the kind of clothes you wear; how much muscle you have-“

“That’s... I’ve never- Eren!” Levi’s own face betrayed him, and was just as red as he hoped it wasn’t. His thoughts were frantic, and words even more so. When he heard Farlan chuckling to himself and felt the smug grin ricocheting off of Eren and onto himself, Levi scoffed. “Isabelle’s a compulsive liar.”

“I am not-“ All conversation died down as the front door creaked open and welcomes were handed out. The four occupied in the kitchen stared at the hallway like it had such interesting things to say, and when it kept quiet, they waited for a response.

Conversation could be heard, though it was faint. Every other word was faded and mumbled and trying to decipher exactly what was being said was a lost cause.

The first people to arrive had been Eren's friends, who were only familiar to Levi due to the fact that Mikasa had grown a liking to them as well. They had a good friendship, it seemed like, and Levi respected their bond. Did he find them as funny as Eren and Mikasa made them out to be? No, but they were friendly enough, and Levi didn't lack the section of his brain where common courtesy nested well. He wasn't totally inept. 

It was later in the night, maybe around six when the house began to really fill up. Kids from all grade levels came together and bonded over gossip and mutual friendships, including the freshmen who, as scared as they were, made an appearance even if it was for a minute of two. Levi was surprised by the party's success population wise, because even though he had been nervous of the sheer amount of people invited, he didn't expect so many to show up. A party thrown by two new seniors with permanently bitch-like figures, and nearly half the whole school was invading their home. Maybe it was because the party was affiliated with Eren Jaeger; senior hottie and school heartthrob. 

Most likely.

And as the night went on, so did Levi's will for ten o'clock; the situated ending point of their unfortunate hosting. It was nice to see Isabelle and Farlan connect with some of Eren’s friends, even mingle with some of the other students from Trost. They definetely were better at socializing than Levi was; by a mile, which encouraged him to step his game up and give himself a chance. Easier said than done. 

Levi mostly stayed in the kitchen, leaning against the island and watching his friends have conversations that were hard to hear, but visually intresting. He merely sipped on his coke, and helped himself to food that wasn’t out for other guests. That was the pro of hosting a party; being able to have any food other than the chips grabbed at by practically everyone. 

The first hour wasn’t the most exciting, but definitely the most nerve-wracking. Not as physically demanding as Mikasa looked, but just as anxious as she felt inside. It was surprising to see the sheer amount of effort and tact she put into making sure everything went accordingly. She was acting like how Levi expected he would himself. Yet, as shocking as it was, Levi had to be the one to calm Mikasa down.

He’d find her in the kitchen, picking up crumbs of crackers off the floor from careless grabs. Or in the living room, using a Bluetooth system that wasn’t hers and playing a song Levi knew she hated, but someone else requested. And when asked how she felt, she, again, acted as though everything was fine, despite her heavy breaths and tapping foot. Levi felt bad, having to see his sister worry so much about impressing people she barely knew the names of. Granted, it was her fault they were having the party in the first place, and that so many people had come, but it was apparent just how much she regretted it. 

So instead of shoving to her an ‘I told you so,’ he hugged her, petted her hair, and handed her a refreshing cup of punch, to which she accepted and had a seat on the couch. He could reprimand her later. 

“Hey, Levi, Eren wants you.” Turning around, Levi was met with Jean, he believed it was, holding a shaky cup of... something. The sentence alone sent shivers up his spine, but the meaning didn’t even come close to what he wanted it to mean. He nodded, and was lead to where Eren was smiling and laughing, obviously having a nice conversation with whoever. After being spotted, Levi was gently grabbed by the arm and pulled towards the brunette. He wrapped an entire arm around his shoulder, and rubbed gently at his side, which made Levi feel as though he was going to catch fire.

“Here he is,” Eren smiled towards Levi and gave him a tight squeeze, “Levi, this is Annie, Reiner, and Bert. They’re in our grade.” Levi felt as though he had met a facial doppelgänger, because Annie had an expression that told him she would slit his throat if she had a knife in her hand. Reiner and Bert were fairly big, height and muscle wise, but Levi didn’t feel any less intimidated talking to them as he would a random Junior. To his surprise, Reiner took his hand from his side and shook it firmly, giving him a warm smile. 

“Lovely to meet you, Levi.” Something about the way Reiner presented himself... it just gave Levi an oddly cold twitch. Eren and the other three chatted for a few minutes; sometimes about Levi, sometimes about the party, and other times about past memories that they thought funny enough to share and laugh about. Levi was caught within the awkward state at which he was just there to listen, and if he went to leave, would be questioned and brought back. So he just stood there and smiled whenever Eren did. He decided to ignore the pungent smell he knew so well, because if he were to point it out, some things might escalate quicker than he’d like. 

Someone had brought alcohol. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Happy Halloween<3


	7. I’ll Never Forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Rated E for sexual content

Every section of the house had a designated alcohol. The kitchen was where the tequila, served with salt and a wedge of lime, resigned. The living area was fireball shots, the patio; vodka, and the stairwell; plain beer. Levi had no clue of where any of the liquor could have been snuck in, especially with Mikasa being the one to greet every guest as they walked through the door.

The entire house smelled of rubbing alcohol and pharmaceutical cough medicine, which was a rather pungent scent in Levi’s opinion. And despite the drug smuggling in general, the behavior of, pretty much everyone was effected. Levi was able to count maybe twenty teens within every turn that were under the influence and or persuaded by just the presence of alcohol.

It had gotten to a point at which Isabelle, Farlan, and Levi had retired to the basement in attempt to isolate themselves from basically everyone. And every once in a while, Eren would notice Levi’s absence, and either go by himself and send someone out to find Levi and bring him back by his side. He didn’t know if it was the alcohol, or maybe it was just a clingy side of Eren he hadn’t seen before, but the need of being wanted was satisfied to no end.

Despite all, Levi was still on the verge of self destruction. There were too many people at this party, which was a causing factor for the decreasing in food items. Add the release of extra amounts of dopamine through ones mind and you have a party of over-populated drunk, hungry people. That was the inevitable.

It gave Levi sudden heart stings, sometimes from not having enough air in his lungs, other times just from simply forgetting to breathe. Isabelle and Farlan helped him through, however. They sat right next to him; which happened to be on the floor next to a rather large-sized leather couch, held his hand, and just talked. They spoke of riddles and rhymes, sometimes memories of something stupid they did in the past, or something stupid they did two months ago. It didn’t matter what they said, because Isabelle and Farlan have found that Levi responds to voices in general, especially when it’s alternating between higher pitch; Isabelle, and lower pitch; Farlan. They had been around long enough to know what can worsen Levi’s situation, and what can make it better. Telling him to suck it up, would not make it better.

When someone had nearly knocked down the basement door due to over exerted force, Levi jumped noticeably, and was soothed by Farlan’s hand running up and down his back. It was Jean.

“Uh, hey. Eren’s askin’ for you.” This had maybe been the third time that Jean alone went on a scavenger hunt in attempt to find Levi, and was successful all three times.

Levi had been calm enough to understand that Eren would most likely keep sending people down if he didn’t go, so he wiped the dust off his pants, ran a hand through his hair, and followed Jean to Eren. At first glance, Levi had caught sight of a dumb brute doing five shots one after the other, and thought about what a horrible headache they’ll have to wake up to the next morning. Upon further inspection, Levi found that Eren was in fact the dumb brute doing five shots one after the other, which made Levi’s frustration on the matter rapidly decrease.

After the fifth and final shot, and after the tiny crowd around Eren had gone into an uproar with screams and applaud, Levi was finally noticed.

“Levi, hey.” Eren set a hand on his shoulder, the scent of booze wafting through the air like a thick cloud. “You keep sneaking off.” Levi could only shrug, watching as everyone in the crowd was setting themselves up with shots of hardcore drinks that made the raven feel drunk just from the smell.

“Just makin’ sure the party’s doing alright.”

“In the basement?” He felt hot for getting caught in his own white lie, but still nodded his head.

“Yes...” Looking around the huddled crowd, Levi was able to see that it was mostly composed of Eren’s friends or of people within the same grade. There were a few freshmen-like teens coupled together and watching the scene from a safe distance away, but the majority that were gathered, Levi was able to recognize first hand. He also spotted the group Eren had introduced to him an hour prior, each with a drink in their hand, and an unreadable expression. If he had to, Levi would’ve guessed they would rather be any place else.

Despite the constant buzzing of numerous conversations overlapping one another, the sound of a thick liquid being poured too quickly was the only thing Levi was able to hear. He caught it through the corner of his eye, and nearly grew pale at the sight of a glass Jägermeister being dumped of its contents. Eren seemed to have seen it too, and almost immediately began to hum his disapproval.

“No no no- guys, come on. We agreed; five shots, that’s all. I can’t-“

“Jae-ger bomb... Jae-ger bomb...” It was a chant that grew louder and louder by the minute, and even caught Mikasa’s attention who poked her head into the kitchen from the living room. Eren tried his best to ignore the mantra, he could tell, but his increasing smile gave Levi the feeling that he wouldn’t be able to power through their persuasion. And as quickly as it started, it was over, the liquid burned Eren’s throat and Levi could tell just by the face he made how it felt going down. But he grinned through it, slammed the glass against the counter, and reveled in the praise he received via pats on the back and fists pumping in the air. Levi felt uncomfortable.

The tall blonde who, a second ago slapped Eren so hard on the back he had a coughing fit, began to pour yet another Jägermeister along with a fraction of sugar-free Red Bull. Eren was about to decline, but was waved off.

“Don’t worry Jaeger, this one’s for your friend.” The Jäger Bomb was placed directly under Levi’s nose, and for a second, he felt high merely from the smell.

“I don’t drink.” His polite declination was laughed at, and Levi’s apologetic smile slowly faded.

“Everyone drinks.” He felt on the spot; as though everyone was just standing there, watching him. The tip of his ears were tinted pink, and he felt the beating of his heart function at an abnormal pace. He was persistent, and ignored Levi in favor of taunting him with the drink. “Just a little taste,” and when Levi was a second away from again rejecting the proposal, he was interrupted.

“He said he doesn’t wanna drink, Reiner.” Eren’s tone of voice was stern and husky, and for a second, Levi couldn’t believe it was him who had spoken up. There were so many ways Levi would’ve liked to have been spoken to in that pitch, and just the apparent domination dripping from every word made the smaller male quiver. He hated that.

“Relax, Eren, Just havin’ a little fun.” He figured by Reiner’s face that Eren wasn’t letting up, and Levi watched as he raised both hands and laughed it off. “Kid doesn’t have to drink if he doesn’t want to.”

He didn’t know if it was the persuasion he felt from the crowd; from only having a voice through Eren; being called a kid in such a degrading, inglorious way, but no matter the cause, Levi felt such a sudden urge to prove his insecurities wrong that he didn’t taste the Jäger until it was lighting fire to his lungs. His whole chest lit up in flames, and Levi liked the taste in his mouth just as much as he liked the feeling of dirt under his fingernails.

The crowd applauded yet again, this time, for Levi, which admittedly made him feel pretty good. He tried his best to ignore the harsh glare from his sister, even though he could feel it burn a hole through the back of his head. Everyone around him was rewarding the shot with his own compliments and praise, while Eren, looked a bit on edge.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know.” He sounded angry, protective almost. But Levi didn’t need to be protected. Not by a long shot.

“I know.” He looked down at the hand gripping at his shoulder, and noticed how his thumb was stroking him through his shirt. Usually, he’d be weak at the knees, but Levi felt too confused by pretty much everything, that he didn’t know whether the action was _supposed_ to make him feel weak. “I wanted to.”

* * *

Twenty minutes later, and Levi was able to escape the huddled group once again. He had been found by Hanji who, obviously tipsy, began to drag him around the party in search for her other friends. Why she was so persistent in being around him so often, he didn’t know. But Levi wasn’t opposed to being liked. 

“Erwin!” Her voice was like a screech from a banshee, and Levi didn’t feel very good about his ear being so close. 

When she called to him again, Erwin turned his head away from an ongoing poker game played with M&M’s instead of money, smiled, and made his way over to the pair. 

“Hello Hanji. Levi,” he nodded his head to, by comparison, the much smaller male, and offered Hanji the rest of his drink. “Don’t care for Bud Light as much as I used to.” She accepted without a thought and pulled the two out onto the front lawn. 

It was relatively quiet at this time of night, especially considering the constant screaming and laughter from inside the house. There were two people making out behind a not so subtle bush, but besides that, the three were alone. 

“So, Levi,” Hanji emptied the cup’s contents into her mouth and instead of throwing it aside, she took into account who’s house it was, and kept it in her hand. Levi appreciated that. “I keep seeing you with Jeager and his little possy.” Her smile seemed wicked and made Levi shiver. “You like him?”

Levi wasn’t one to often flaunt his sexuality around like it was something he was proud of, because despite popular belief, he didn’t think it was that much of a deal. He wasn’t ashamed of it, but he didn’t look at it like it was something to be celebrated. So when people like Hanji, who’ve known him for maybe three days correctly assumes what team he’s on, Levi takes a minute to consider what so easily gives him away. And if it wasn’t easy to tell before, Levi guessed that his choked breath and heated cheeks would say it all. 

“As a friend, yes.” Hanji shook her head, as though he was spitting lies she knew were false. 

“I think you like him more than a friend. Don’t you, Erwin?” And when he too nodded his head with what Levi could only guess was a conniving smile, he bit his lip.

“I don’t.” 

“Are you sure?” At that, he had to scoff.

”No offense, but I think I’d be able to tell.” And he didn’t know why he even bothered to argue, because whatever he said wasn’t going to be a valid enough answer. He barely knew the two in front of him and they were finding pleasure in meddling within his love life, which was noted, but fairly unappreciated. “I gotta go find my sister-“ 

“He likes guys.” It peeked his interest. Fairly much so, he found himself frozen in the walkway. 

“Excuse me?” 

“Eren. He’s bi.” Levi was now fully facing Hanji, who knew she had him beat. “Not a lot of people know. Not even Eren.” And his hopes were deflated. 

“So your just making shit up now?” She shook her head rapidly, and found purchase in grabbing both sides of his shoulders. 

“If we’re going to be best friends, there are three things you should know about me. One,” her hand left his right shoulder in favor of holding a finger to his face, “I don’t lie.” A second finger. “Two, I keep my promises, and three,” after the third finger, she put her hand down and leaned in to whisper in his ear, “I never share secrets.” In less than a second she was standing straight again, grinning like she had told the funniest joke. “Alright?” 

Levi nodded along numbly, expression twisted in confusion as he stared deeply into her eyes. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly started liking Hanji a lot more. 

“Alright.” He kicked at his shoes, and couldn’t help but speak up. “I still don’t get how that tells me you know for sure that Eren’s bi.” He caught himself after it was too late, and waved his hand around quickly. “Not that I care, I just don’t see the logic, is all.” Hanji tapped at her chin, and sat down on the front steps. Levi sat beside her. 

“Monday, Eren broke up with his girlfriend, Annie. You’ve met her, right?” Levi thought back to the three friends Eren had introduced to him early that night. Reiner, Bert, and _Annie_. He thought back to her blonde hair and blue eyes, remembering how she constantly looked annoyed, and to how she had downed three shots when they had been huddled drinking Jägermeister.

But it didn’t make sense to Levi, because both Eren and Annie seemed as though there had been no chemistry at all. He figured if they had broken up, especially only last week, that there would have been tension if not obvious signs of mixed emotions. Eren looked great, and Annie... was hard to read in general. Levi nodded silently. “They’ve dated for about five months, now. Well... I guess ‘dated’ wouldn’t be the right term. ‘Tolerated one another’ would be a better way of describing it.”

Erwin had excused himself back inside for another drink, leaving Levi, Hanji, and the couple swapping saliva completely alone. “At first it seemed they liked eachother, then they stopped hanging out. They didn’t sit next to eachother at lunch or in class, hell, no one even saw them greet eachother in the hall.” She looked to Levi and leaned against the metal railing. “You’d think they were strangers just by lookin’ at them. But they stayed together, kissed for show, held hands when their friends questioned whether or not they even liked eachother as friends. Everyone was just waiting for when they’d finally break up and end all the awkward shit.” Levi found himself quite enjoying the story, and he didn’t know if it was because hearing Eren with another person made his blood boil, or if he was just that sadistic. “But then you came to town, and Eren finally found it in himself to break off the relationship.” 

Levi sat, stricken with guilt, nausea, confusion; he didn’t know. He was simply in a state of wonder and denial. Because of course it wasn’t because of him. It wouldn’t have been.

 _Couldn’t have been._  

“In my opinion, he’s been happier these past few days than he’s been since the relationship started.” Everything was too much, and he felt that if he were to hear one more observation made since Levi’s appearance he’d burst into tears. He was just sensitive like that. So instead of responding back, he stood up on shaky legs, and headed inside the house, passing Erwin on his way in. He ignored the calling of his name, and found that he was subconsciously drawn to the kitchen; where he last saw Eren.

He pushed past the thick layer of people keeping himself and Eren apart, and when he still couldn’t find the brunette, he turned to a nearby friend who was chugging beer from a funnel. Levi tapped on his shoulders, and Connie didn’t acknowledge him until he had downed every last drop.

“Huh?”

”Where’s Eren?”

“Puking.” The response caught him off guard, but he remained his composure and tapped him again.

“Where?”

”Bathroom.” Levi started down the hall, dodging people of influence left and right until he made it to the first floor’s bathroom. It was currently occupied, and if Eren wasn’t the one currently occupying it, he was certain there’d be problems. But he risked the chances, knocking on the door lightly and pressing an ear against the wall. At first, he heard mumbling, and when he knocked again, this time louder, he heard a groan. 

“Jus’ go away...” They sounded slurred and exhausted, but Levi was able to tell it was Eren. 

“It’s Levi.” It took a minute for him to get a response, but when he heard the lock on the bathroom come undone, he slowly opened the door to find Eren sitting on the floor, gripping the rounded side of the toilet and leaning his head against the bath tub’s edge. 

“I drunk too much...” Levi rubbed at his eyes, and closed the door behind him. The sight of Eren, drunk to the point of illness made his heart wrench, but he didn’t comment on how he looked; sweat sticking his bangs to his forehead, hands shaky; bags under his eyes. It looked as though the hangover struck early for Eren, and he was suffering bad. 

“I can see that.” Levi walked over to the hot tempered brunette on the ground, didn’t look in the toilet as he flushed, and went over to the sink to check for a spare toothbrush and some mouthwash. Fortunately, he was lucky enough to find exactly what he needed, and turned back to Eren who’s entire body was now slung over the bath tub. “Can you sit up for me, Eren?” He obliged willingly, and let Levi gently brush at his teeth since he was most likely too inept to do anything. He was able to spit out the mouthwash himself though; in the tub, which Levi would’ve usually cleaned in an instant, but found that he probably shouldn’t leave Eren for even a moment. 

Levi helped the tall brunette to his feet, most of his weight now against himself. He struggled to walk, but every once in a while Eren was able to take a few steps on his own, before falling to Levi’s aid. The trip upstairs was the worst part, and took more effort than Levi thought physically possible. They would’ve fallen back if it weren’t for Levi’s foot that slipped down a carpeted step and held their ground. And once they reached the second floor, Eren was questioning where exactly he was being taken. “My room,” Levi huffed, “you need to get some rest.” Eren started giggling for a reason Levi was unaware of, and decided he didn’t want to know. 

They reached Levi’s room with ease, except for when Eren had gone limp in his hold and fallen to the floor, reaching his arms up like a child wanting to be hold. Of course, Levi had to be the one to help him up, and grabbed at his wrists to attempt to pick him up again. “Such a brat... a shitty brat...” Back in Levi’s arms, Eren smiled innocently and nuzzled the top of raven hair. 

“Is that my new nickname?” The seventeen year old laughed softly through his nose, dragging Eren to the bed.

”If you want it to be.” As he was about to rest Eren on his freshly made bed, Levi was tripped up and pushed against the conforters himself; with Eren on top of him. He was certain that in the silence of his dark room, his heart beat would be the easiest thing to make out, especially since it was hitting his chest so hard it physically hurt. Eren was too close for even a remotely small fraction of comfort, and Levi was able to smell what kind of shampoo he uses from the close proximity of his hair. 

As if it couldn’t have gotten worse, Eren decided to dead weight on top of Levi’s entire body, which made it so that their legs were tangled and bodies practically a part of one another’s. He tried not to think about how unfortunately placed Eren’s abdomen was, because Levi could only focus on how good that friction felt and oh god he was getting hard. Levi began to panic, with reason, too. Because yes, Eren was drunk and yes he most likely wouldn’t remember a small erection poking into his stomach, but that didn’t help Levi in the present of which it was happening. And of course Eren had abs, because if he didn’t, Levi wouldn’t be able to feel how hard they were against him and how good they felt whenever Eren moved even in the slightest. “Eren...” he found his voice, though shaky, and tapped at his side, “get up.” 

Levi either hadn’t been heard or was being ignored, so he tried again, this time louder and even more insecure. “You n-need to get up, Eren.” And as if he wanted Levi to suffer, Eren wrapped his arms around the ravens back and hugged him as tightly as he could, which inevitably added more pressure to his now throbbing erection. “Eren!” He wheezed out, now finding that the physical and mental pressure of Eren’s figure was pulling the air directly from his lungs. 

“So pretty, Levi.” His sultry voice made Levi’s groin ache, and he was now panting. He needed willpower; discipline; strength; anything that would get him through the situation at hand. But finding self control at a time like this would be like finding a four-leafed clover which, in Levi’s case, was impossible. So, as unwilling as he was, his hips gave an involuntary thrust, and he sighing quietly as he felt Eren’s figure rub so deliciously against his own. “So pretty for me.” Eren’s voice only added fuel to the fire, and he once again grinded against his body. 

“Nh!” Eren’s nose was nuzzled into the corner of Levi’s neck and shoulder, giving him enough of Eren’s scent to wrap around his small frame and add more stamina to his thrusts. He felt drunk; off of Eren; his scent; his body; all but a physical form of liquor. He was high on everything Eren Jeager, and he didn’t mind now that he was too far gone in euphoria to understand what exactly he was doing. 

Levi just continued to hump Eren’s abdomen, and wasn’t stopped by himself nor Eren, which only encouraged him to keep going. His stomach was beginning to tighten, and he didn’t know how much more of this he could keep up before he was as gone as Eren was. So he just moaned and moaned, trying his best not to be loud enough to draw attention from outside his door, and still be able to communicate just how good he felt. Levi’s hands were clutching desperately at the sheets below him, hair matted down and covering his eyes from the sheer amount of sweat, and toes curling in his sneakers.

He was close. 

_So close._

”E-Eren...” He gave one thrust, two thrusts, and by the third thrust, he was coming into his pants with a whimper. Levi was breathing heavily in attempt to catch his breath, and when he looked down at Eren to see if he was still conscious, he heard a light snore and a deep exhale. He had humped Eren’s sleeping body to orgasm, and currently, still didn’t grasp the weight of what he had done.

_He just wanted it so bad._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you go. Their relationship can only develop, right?


	8. *note*

I believe I will be discontinuing this story from here on out. I won’t leave it up for an unfinished story, I might just delete it in general. 

I don’t necessarily like where the story is going, and honestly I had no idea that I’ve missed two weeks worth of updates... I’ve felt like the last three weeks was just one. Which is odd, but yeah. 

I like one shots better than actual stories, it’s a bit of anxiety on my part though if this does get discontinued I will be writing future tid bits when I have the chance. 

I am sorry if you really liked the story, don’t really expect a lot of people to... but it’s still a debate.

Thanks for those who read and have been there through out the whole plot, I appreciate the love and praise I’ve gotten, really.

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm hoping that I'll be able to update soon, I'm not sure if this will be only a couple of chapters or maybe more, we'll have to see [•^•] Hope it was ok


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